Dear Prudence
by eM's aLter Ego
Summary: The residents of Harmony are stuck in a rut. Can an advice columnist shake things up or do some things never change?
1. A Stranger's View of Harmony

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DEAR PRUDENCE

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A/N: I've toyed with the idea of writing this for awhile, but it's taken me so long that it's a little outdated now. And surprisingly things on the show have actually started happening recently. But since I've already jumped the first hurdle and created the Word file, I might as well continue. :-)  
- This story starts before the "December weddings" and before any of the pregnancies are discovered. The only difference is that the Fox is already back in town (I saw no reason to delay or rewrite his arrival). Further chapters (if any) may jump ahead to more current story lines. Hopefully it will be clear when it happens without the use of further author's notes.  
- I have a few ideas for future chapters, but suggestions are welcome for things you'd like to see addressed or for character pairings. I have no preferences myself, but for this story, the less conventional is better.  
- I'm not sure how long this story will be, it may be a few chapters or it may go on indefinitely, depending on when I lose interest, which could be at any time. But then again, I guess that's true of just about everything I attempt to write.  
- Needless to say I own no one, except for maybe the title character. Even the title was borrowed from Lennon and McCartney.

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CHAPTER 1 - A STRANGER'S VIEW OF HARMONY

"Invitation, please," the butler at the door requested.

"Invitation," I repeated slowly as if the word were foreign. Even though the butler showed no change in expression I could somehow detect his annoyance. "Right," I repeated in the same drawn out speech. I reached for my small handbag and opened it. The stoic butler nearly, but not quite, sighed as I fished through its contents. 

The search was quite pointless, of course. I knew perfectly well that there was no invitation tucked away in the purse. There never had been. 

I had just arrived in this small New England town earlier that day, a stranger to all. While wandering the streets of the quaint little village I picked up the local buzz about the big party at the Crane Mansion. It was too tempting to resist, so I decided to invite myself. The place hadn't been hard to find, it was practically a landmark in the little town. The hard part seemed to be actually getting in, but it wouldn't be a problem.

"Invitation," I muttered to myself as I continued to put on the act of sifting through the contents of my purse.

"Yes ma'am," the butler sighed.

"Oh, here it is," I said. With a wiggle of my finger a card magically appeared between a compact and a tube of mascara. Gingerly I lifted it out and handed it to the butler. I offered him a smile, but the effort was lost.

He inspected it thoroughly for authenticity before allowing me to enter. "Shall I announce you, Ms.-"

I cut him off, with a wave of my hand. "That won't be necessary. I'd rather mingle."

"I'm sure he's heartbroken about that one," I muttered to myself as I walked through the entranceway into the main room and surveyed the surroundings. I smiled approvingly. This would do nicely. 

I grabbed a glass of champagne and an hors d'oeuvre from a passing waiter as I sauntered around the room, taking stock of my fellow guests. The men were all handsome and well built, dressed in tailored tuxedoes. The women were equally attractive with freshly styled hairdos and wearing elegant formal dresses. They made me, in a simple, yet stylish, black dress and dull brown hair pulled back in a loose bun, look positively plain. 

The guests were scattered around the room, talking informally in groups. No doubt, in a small town like Harmony, the majority of the residents were well acquainted with one another. To me, they were all strangers. I'd never set foot in the town before, but I'd heard many interesting things about it, namely from my sister Constance_*_, who had passed through once on a trip.

"The place looked like your typical, run-of-the-mill, little New England town," Constance had related. "But it's a actually hot bed of magical powers. You can feel the evil down to your bones. Some sort of natural or unnatural disaster happens there nearly every other day, but the bizarre thing is that nothing ever changes much. The people are stuck in their own little ruts."

After hearing those comments from my sister, I knew I had to see this place first hand. I found the last remarks the most interesting. It sounded like there would be plenty for me to do in this town and I couldn't wait to get to work. But for now, I decided it would be best to wait a little bit. Since no one had really taken notice of me, I decided it would be the perfect time to wander around a bit and see what was going on. If I picked up on snippets of conversation, maybe I'd stumble upon something juicy.

.

"Evil! You're an evil, evil girl!"

I jumped at the sound of those words and glanced around defensively trying to find out who had spoken them. Could someone be on to me already?

I relaxed when I heard the second voice reply, "Shut up, mother!"

A petite woman with short dark hair styled with jagged bangs plastered to her forehead and strands poking out haphazardly around her neck, framing her face impishly, leaned threateningly across the walker of an elderly woman who looked very out of place in the elegant setting. The older woman's strands of long gray hair were pulled back carelessly in a loose ponytail. Her dress was a plain, almost shabby, cotton housedress under a drab beige sweater.

"I wonder how she got past the butler guarding the door," I wondered to myself, as I turned from the pair. I pretended to be busy watching the group of dancers who twirled across the dance floor, while keeping both ears on the conversation between mother and daughter.

"What did I do to deserve a horrible, selfish,_ evil_ daughter like you, Beth?"

"Oh give it a rest," the daughter replied. "If you try anything to come between me and Luis tonight, you're dead, you hear me?"

"Beth!" a voice called out. I gave a half turn and noticed one of the handsome young men from the party walking towards them.

At the sound of his voice, Beth released her grip on the walker and casually backed away from the elderly woman. Her vindictive expression was quickly covered up by an innocent looking grin. Strategically, she stepped between her mother and the man.

"Luis," she replied with an air of pleasant surprise.

I stole another glance at the man. So this was the aforementioned Luis. "Not bad," I thought as I sized him up. He seemed to be your typical, gorgeous Latin lover type. His dark hair with carefully trimmed sideburns offset his deeply tanned skin, and soft brown eyes. He was muscular, but he had a look of intense gentleness about him, especially in the eyes.

"So have you and Sheridan made a decision about whether to tell Antonio about your relationship or not?" Beth asked tentatively. 

"We're not going to tell him," Luis replied sadly. "Sheridan chose to stay with Antonio."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Luis," Beth said, laying a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"I bet you are, missy," her mother muttered.

"What was that Mrs. Wallace?" Luis asked.

"Nothing," Beth hissed with a venomous look at her mother. Then sweetly to Luis she added, "I really should see that mother gets home. It's awfully late for her to be out. If you'll excuse me," she said, and quickly ushered her mother out.

Luis wandered a few steps away and stared dreamily out onto the dance floor. His gaze was fixed on a particularly fetching, curvaceous blonde who was dancing in the arms of a brunet man. The man seemed less refined than the elegant blonde, but was dashing nonetheless with a soft face and hard unseeing eyes. The woman's eyes met Luis's and she sent him a weak smile, though sadness shone through her expression.

The couple steered their way over to Luis as the song ended.

"Where did Beth go?" the woman asked as she led her partner off the dance floor.

"She had to take her mother home. She's always been so good about taking care of her like that."

"Yeah," the other man agreed. "Beth is a great girl. You know, we must be the luckiest guys in the world to be engaged to the two most beautiful and caring women in Harmony. Me with Sheridan," he said with giving the blonde next to him a romantic squeeze. "You with Beth."

"Yeah," Luis replied half-heartedly, but the blind man didn't seem to notice his disparaging tone. Sheridan looked just as doubtful.

"Could you guys guide me to a chair? I think I need to sit down."

"Are you alright?" Sheridan asked, her voice filled with genuine concern.

"Never better. You just danced me off my feet. But there's no need for you to sit this one out too. Why don't you dance this one with Luis, Sheridan?"

"I don't know, Antonio," she replied warily.

"Why not? There's no one I'd trust more with my bride-to-be than my own brother."

Reluctantly, Luis and Sheridan agreed and proceeded to the dance floor, looking as guilty as sin.

A moment later a dark woman with a round face, and a mass of tiny dark curls piled on the top of her head, took a seat next to Antonio. When she took his hand in hers and spoke to him her expression was loving and gentle.

After a moment of everyday small talk, Antonio asked the woman, who he called Liz, to describe Sheridan to him on the dance floor. 

Liz's expression tightened and look of bitterness came over her face. She struggled in her speech for only a moment, before she continued, "Well, she's dancing with Luis . . ." She hesitated a moment as her gaze seemed to wander to someone else on the dance floor, who I couldn't quite see from where I stood. She smiled shrewdly with the expression of a mischievous child.

"Yeah, I know that, Liz. And?" Antonio prompted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Antonio," she said turning back to her companion and patting his hand lightly. "I was distracted a moment." 

As Liz continued speaking, I turned my attention to the couple in question. Sheridan and Luis looked very uncomfortable on the dance floor at first, but after a few moments their bodies fell into perfect rhythm with each other. They had struggled to avoid eye contact, but couldn't seem to avoid gazing lovingly, lustfully, into each other's eyes. They seemed oblivious to the other people of the room and they swept past other couples without noticing them. 

I, however, was taking careful notice of the other people on the dance floor. My attention paused for a moment on a young man who looked very much like Luis, but younger and with sharper features, as he danced past with a blonde girl. Her long straight hair and pale complexion added to her appearance of frailty. She clung to her dance partner as if he gave her strength. She lovingly turned her large eyes, rimmed in dark eyeliner to the young man and smiled at him with adoration. And he returned the expression.

"I love you so much, Miguel," she cooed.

"I love you too, Charity," he replied tenderly.

"I can't wait until we can finally get married and be together forever."

"Me neither," he agreed with a silly, affectionate grin.

Charity buried her head in Miguel's shoulder. He looked up and glanced around as if he felt that someone was staring at him. I quickly turned away and casually wandered a few steps, hoping he wouldn't notice me.

When I dared to look at him again his eyes were turned to girl standing at the edge of the dance floor with her arms crossed over her chest. Under her defiant stare, his expression took on a worried look, and he quickly turned away. The girl was about to step forward, but an older red-haired woman caught her arm. The girl recoiled at her touch and quickly pulled away.

The pair looked like mother and daughter. They had similar shades of hair, although the mother's was shorter, had a stronger reddish color, and was gelled back in a most unbecoming style. The daughter's was more of a light brown and hung down loosely above her shoulders, brushing along her chin. They both looked like they could be quite pretty if they bothered to smile. Instead their expressions were fixed in defiant scowls.

I wandered closer, trying to catch what they were saying.

"What are you doing, Kay?"

"Nothing! God, can't you leave me alone for a second?"

"I saw the way that you were looking at Miguel just now. And I want you to leave Miguel and Charity alone."

"Sorry, but I can't do that," she replied in a snotty tone that said she was anything but sorry.

"You don't have any choice, Kay."

"Oh, don't I?"

"No. Miguel is in love with your cousin, Charity, and she's in love with him. They're going to be married in a few days and you are _not_ going to come between them," she said authoritatively.

Kay smirked. "You're one to talk, Mother. Why don't you worry about your own problems, like keeping David from coming between you and Dad? Oh, wait, I guess technically Dad's coming between you and David, since you were married to David first."

"I've had just about enough of your attitude . . ." she continued, but was interrupted by a tall dark-haired man with a square chiseled jaw and striking blue eyes.

"Grace, Kay," he began looking from the older woman to the younger. The two women glared at each other tauntingly. "What's going on here?"

Before either could answer, a second younger man, approached the group. He was a fairly average looking guy. His dark hair was combed back neatly back from a firm forehead which stood above an expressionless and essentially indistinct face. "Dad, could I talk to you for a minute? I could use some advice."

"Sure Ethan. I'll be right back," he said as he patted Grace on the shoulder.

"But Sam, I think we need to have a talk with our daughter," she protested.

"Is everything alright, Kay?" he asked moving to the younger woman.

She nodded quickly and replied, "Fine."

"Ok," he smiled at her. "I'm going to see what Ethan needs and then I'll be right back to talk with you and your mother."

As Sam turned away and followed Ethan into the next room, his wife and daughter stared at each other with defiant antagonism, before stubbornly turning away from each other.

I waited a few moments before following the two men. I stood casually next to the doorway within hearing distance of Sam and Ethan, keeping my back to the room they were in as I eavesdropped.

"So what's up?" Sam asked.

"I'm thinking about proposing tonight."

"That's great. Congratulations." He paused. "So who are you going to propose to?"

"That's just it," Ethan replied. "I've been going back and forth all night. At first I was sure I was going to ask Gwen. But before I had the chance, I ran into Theresa. We talked and I started to think that maybe I should give Theresa another chance. But now, I'm starting to have second thoughts. Maybe I would be better off with Gwen. I want to follow my heart, but it's complicated."

"I understand," Sam said thoughtfully.

The two men continued talking in the next room, but my attention turned elsewhere when I realized I wasn't the only one listening in. On the opposite end of the open doorway two young women were pushing each other trying to get a better view into the other room. Behind them stood a handsome young man with tousled blond hair who watched them with an amused smirk.

"Did you hear that, Theresa?" the fair skinned blonde asked. Her pretty bird-like features were pointed sharply at the woman next to her. "It's all over for you. Ethan's going to marry me, like he should have a long time ago."

"Give it up, Gwen," the brunette replied sharply. Her large brown eyes stared into the next room dreamily. "Ethan will never marry you. He and I belong together. It's fate."

Gwen laughed derisively, but before she could offer a retort, the young man standing behind them leaned towards them. "Look out," he said with a nod to his right.

Casually I turned my head in the direction of his glance and saw Grace approaching. Gwen and Theresa stepped away from the doorway.

Grace stopped briefly where they stood and asked if they had seen her husband. Gwen nodded and Theresa pointed into the next room. Grace thanked them before moving on.

As she entered, Sam was saying, "I would have married your mother if I knew she was pregnant when we broke up."

"Sam!" Grace gasped.

"Grace!" Sam called out in surprise as he turned and saw his wife standing behind him. "Grace," he started again, but she had already turned and stormed out of the room again. He hurried after her and caught her arm, just as she made it into the main room.

"Grace, wait. You don't understand."

"Don't I? Didn't I just hear you say you would have traded your life with me and our family for one with Ivy and Ethan?"

"That's not what I meant," Sam objected, but his wife didn't seem to be listening. She was more concerned with sending venomous looks to a bleach blonde woman who sat perched in a wheelchair on the other side of the room.

When the blonde sent a devious smile in Grace's direction, the red-head fumed. She turned away and Sam followed. 

My interest had turned, however, to the woman across the room and the two people she was talking to. I made my way over to their side of the room.

"You see, they're fighting already," the blonde woman smiled gleefully.

"It won't last," the woman standing in front of her said. Her face was marked by high proud cheekbones and an even complexion. She stood tall, looking like someone who carried herself dignity and grace. "Sam and Grace have a strong marriage. They won't let anyone come between them."

"Oh but I think they will, Eve. And you and David are going to help me split them up."

"Leave us out of this, Ivy," the man standing next to them spoke up. He was slightly scruffy looking with messy brown hair and a generally sad expression, but his velvety accented voice more than made up for his appearance. "Grace is a good person and I don't want to do anything to cause her pain."

"Me neither," Eve agreed firmly. "Grace and Sam are my best friends and they don't deserve this. I want nothing to do with your twisted plans."

"I think it's too late for that," Ivy said smugly. "You're both in this already and if you back out now, I'm going to tell your families exactly what I know about your seedy little pasts. They would never forgive you for lying to them all these years. So I think you both should do as I say."

As Ivy leaned back in her chair with a self satisfied grin, Eve's face furrowed into an angry frown. She was about to lean forward and give a scalding reply, but a man interrupted.

"Eve, there you are. I've been looking all over."

Ivy glanced over Eve's shoulder, her blue eyes sparkling as Eve quickly composed herself. When she turned around to face the man, with a dark complexion and bearded smile, she forced a smile.

"T.C." she replied. "I've been right here."

"Oh. I wondered if you've seen Whitney." 

"I saw her just a minute ago," Eve said slowly as she scanned the room. She took T.C.'s arm in her own and carefully maneuvered him away from Ivy and David. 

"You know she has that big match tomorrow and I want to make sure that she gets home early and gets a good night's sleep . . .Oh there she is." 

He pointed to a young woman who had a complexion that matched Eve's, her dark curly hair was pulled back at the base of her neck. She seemed to be involved in a private conversation with a tall young man with dark skin and sparkling eyes. Curious, I hurried over to their side of the room, hoping to catch a bit of their conversation.

"I'll just tell my parents that I'm going home early to rest up for my tennis match in the morning. After I've left you can make some excuse to leave the party and then we'll meet up at your place," she said.

"Sounds good to me," he agreed. "But it would be so much easier if we could just leave together." He leaned forward, sending her a lust-filled look and she turned her face away, nervously fiddling with her hands.

"I wish we could too, Chad, but we can't let my dad or Simone know about us yet. They would be crushed."

"You've got to tell them sometime, Whit."

"Tell us what?" T.C. asked as he approached the couple.

"That I," Whitney hesitated. "Was thinking about going home early."

"That's my girl," T.C. said proudly.

Just then, a teenaged girl with a wide smiling face dark hair pulled back in a ribbon, came up to the group and grabbed Chad's arm. She hugged it tightly, like a child squeezing a favorite stuffed animal, and gazed up at Chad adoringly. 

Chad tensed up, looking very uncomfortable, but didn't attempt to move away. He looked from the girl to a sad looking Whitney and shrugged apologetically. If the girl on his arm noticed his reaction, she didn't show it. She smiled happily and leaned her head against his arm.

Chad and Whitney exchanged helpless glances as the bubbly girl dragged Chad in one direction and T.C. led Whitney in another as he talked about the upcoming tennis match.

.

I made my way around the party a few more times, observing the goings-on, and making mental notes to go over later. I managed to keep a low profile and avoid contact with the locals, except for one small slip up, when I bumped into a blondish young man in glasses. I stared at him for a moment, sizing him up, and decided that there was probably a better looking guy behind those glasses than most people realized. He was just the kind of person I was thinking of. If the women around here were smart they would go after a guy like him, one that two or three women weren't already fighting over. But my theory was shot down when a pretty and petite girl with long dark hair, linked her arm around his possessively.

I took the hint and backed off, but I added this into my notes. Maybe there was some common sense hiding somewhere in this town. Maybe there was hope.

I found an empty table in the corner of the room and sat down. I looked around the room watching the human drama unfold before me. I'd spent the last few hours watching it in action. Secrets threatened to come out, but somehow never managed to surface. Couples shifted back and forth in love triangles that proved indestructible. The threat of change and disaster loomed in the air, but never made good on its promises. Everything was the same and the people involved seemed oblivious to the situation.

I set my purse on the table and fished out a pocket sized notebook. As I mentally scanned over the facts that I had collected, the words were magically transcribed on the blank sheets of paper. I was so preoccupied with recording the information and forming conclusions that I didn't notice that someone had come up beside me.

"Aha!" a voice said as a wrinkled hand grabbed me by the wrist and its metal bangles slid forward connecting coolly with my bare arm.

I turned quickly to see an older woman dressed in loose orange and yellow garments. Her heavy blonde curls were tied back with a matching ribbon.

"I thought I sensed magic present," she said slyly, but with a pleasant chuckle to her voice.

"What are you talking about?" I denied the accusation.

"There's no need to play dumb with me," she said as she pulled up a chair. "You're just as much a witch as I am." I looked at her curiously. "Oh it's true, dear. I may not have my full powers at the moment, but I can still cause plenty of trouble around Harmony."

"Oh? Like what?" I asked with interest.

"Like, breaking up some of Harmony's happiest couples."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Why?" she repeated incredulously. "Why not? I'm a witch. It's what I do." 

I just shrugged, thinking her claim wasn't much of an excuse. 

"Well," she said, leaning back in her chair. "I can see that you _aren't_ the helper that the Dark Side promised to send me." She pondered that thought for a moment. "Then what are you doing in Harmony?" She leaned forward and eyed me suspiciously. "You aren't here for the side of Good are you?"

"No, I try not to take sides. I'm just passing through town," I replied casually.

"Uh huh," she said doubtfully. "Tourists don't usually spend so much time writing notes on the people here and what they're doing." She wagged a finger at me, sending the bracelets on her arms bouncing. "Now listen here, if you think you can come into my town where I have been causing pain and suffering for generations and take over, you have another thing coming."

"I had no such plans," I assured her. "If you really caused all of the disharmony I've seen tonight, I was just observing your work."

"There's no if about it," she stated firmly. 

"Since you've been here for so long, you would know, does anything ever really change around here?" I asked.

"Of course it does," she laughed. "You can't expect to see it happen in one hour. It takes years, generations, for things to happen. Young witches are so impatient."

"But why does it take these people so long to catch on to what's happening right in front of them? If they had even a little common sense wouldn't they notice how things really were and make an effort to avoid the pain and suffering."

"But that's precisely the point. If they caught on then there wouldn't be any chaos. Everyone would settle down and live happily ever and we wouldn't want that."

"There are other things to keep it interesting," I mumbled.

"Keeping it interesting isn't the point," she replied. "The point is to cause as much pain as possible."

Realizing that there was no arguing with the old witch I shifted the conversation. "Maybe you can help me understand the deal with these love triangles. At first I thought there was a shortage of men in town, by the way the women seem to fight over them. If that was the case that would explain why the men around here never seem to be to blamed for anything. But then I noticed there are plenty good-looking guys that are just being overlooked."

"Oh?" she remarked. 

"I mean, is there a reason why no one's picking up on these guys?" I asked as I scanned the room for an example. I nodded at a slightly gawky young man on the far side of the room. "What about him?" I asked as I studied his appearance. Even despite his slightly too wide features and his Joe Millionaire haircut, he was attractive, in an endearing sort of way.

"John Hastings?" she asked with a laugh. "He's not exactly Harmony's sexiest bachelor . . .Well, John's new in town and no one's quite sure about his identity, except for his father, David Hastings. Most of the town is wrongly convinced he's Grace Bennett's son. But those of us in the know, know that he's not. It might be safer for him if he didn't date anyone yet," she paused a moment thoughtfully, but I had already moved on to my next example.

"What about him, the tall guy with the spiky blond highlights?" I asked, pointing to the thin handsome man, who seemed to be Theresa's shadow. "Don't tell me he's got an ambiguous genealogy."

"No. That's Fox Crane, son of Ivy and Julian Crane. He hasn't been in Harmony since he was a child. He has a reputation as somewhat of a playboy. He hasn't made any plays since he's come back to town, but he does seem to have his sights on his stepmother, Theresa."

"Sounds like a Greek tragedy," I remarked. "Ok then, what about the blond Adonis, standing over there," I pointed to a tall, well built man who was currently involved in a conversation with Luis. "If you have a reason why the women aren't flocking to him, I'd like to hear it."

"That is Hank Bennett, Chief Sam Bennett's younger brother. And I really don't know why he's unattached."

I lowered my voice and spoke in a confidential tone, "He isn't . . ." I trailed off, letting a slight flutter of my hand complete the thought.

"No," she answered with a laugh, but paused. "At least not as far as I know."

I shrugged, "I guess I just don't get it."

"Well you know how these mortals are. They get an idea about loving one person and get set in their ways."

"I can see that," I muttered as I stared across the dance floor, watching the dancing couples twirl past.

Slowly a pattern started to take shape in my mind. I began to picture the people of Harmony standing in a wide circle in the center of the room with a large May pole in the center. The players held their multi-colored banners and ran in groups, around and around in circles, until the ground beneath them wore down in deep ruts.

As they made their way around the circle, Ethan bounced back and forth from Gwen to Theresa and back again. Sheridan reached for Luis' waiting arms, but was knocked away by Beth into the stumbling sightless Antonio. Ivy barreled between Sam and Grace, dragging the reluctant David along with her. Miguel and Charity skipped along happily hand in hand until Kay would trip her cousin up and unsuccessfully try to take her place. Chad and Whitney stayed side by side, linking arms when no one was looking, until Simone rushed between them from behind, pushing her sister aside and pulling Chad away. Eve walked along with T.C., always looking back over her shoulder at Liz who followed close behind, carrying the dark Secret in her arms and grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

As they made their way around the circle, others stood on the sidelines watching, but not participating. John Hastings, Fox Crane, the handsome Hank Bennett, the elderly Mrs. Wallace, the boy in glasses, and his raven haired girlfriend, among others. Their only purpose seemed to be to boo or cheer on the others. The old witch fell somewhere in between, standing in the middle of it all, jumping up and tugging at the strings.

On and on it would go, the days would pass, seasons would come and go, but the cycle would always continue on and on. The people always stayed the same, running around in circles, never getting anywhere.

Every so often it would seem like something was about to change. Kay or Theresa would slow their pace and fall back a few steps, muttering, "I lost him forever." But before they had a chance to act on the revelation, a jerk of the strings or a glance back from their beloved would send them running forward again. Then Antonio or T.C. would slow their steps and seem to open their eyes, exclaiming, "I know _exactly_ what's going on!" The other players held their breaths, waiting for the revelation, but it never came. One wonders if they too were just waiting to see how wrong they got it this time.

Working this situation out in my mind I began to wonder what would happen if one of these people really did stray from their singular purpose for being. Would they veer off into a new and exciting, uncharted path? Or, ripped from their life lines, would they simply fade away and cease to be? I began to imagine the people as two dimensional cardboard cutouts. When they turned sideways, they almost disappeared.

I was pulled out of my daydream by the voice of the old witch. "Since you say you aren't working for either the Dark Side or the side of Good, then what do you do?"

"I work freelance," I said brightly. "I'm an advice columnist."

She laughed. "Advice columnist? Who heard of such a ridiculous thing? A witch using her powers to give people advice. Why bother?"

"People can always use a good dose of common sense."

"I doubt anyone would be willing to buy it though."

"We'll see," I said rising from my chair. My recent conclusion about the situation in Harmony gave me a renewed purpose. "It's been enlightening speaking with you, uh . . ."

"Tabitha," she replied. "And you are?"

"Prudence. I'm sure we'll be running into each other again soon."

I grabbed my purse from the table and walked away, ready to make a final trip around the room. I produced a stack of business cards from my handbag and began handing them out to the people in the room as I introduced myself. Most people took them just to be polite, but frowned or stared after me curiously. Some of them tried to ignore me altogether. One red-haired woman dressed in a tight leopard print outfit, that was cut low to exaggerate her buxom figure remarked, "How tacky." The dignified gray-haired man, standing next to her, twirling a martini glass, nodded his agreement.

"Looks like you aren't doing so well," Tabitha remarked as she came up behind me. "Nobody's paying any attention to your silly cards."

She was right of course, the cards were being stuffed away in purses and pockets, dropped carelessly on tables or wadded up and tossed in the trash, but still I wasn't worried. I magically conjured a card between my fingers and handed it to Tabitha.

"No problem. They always have a way of turning up when they're needed," I smiled, before turning and leaving the mansion. 

.

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[A/N: This chapter turned out much longer than I intended. The next will be shorter, I promise, and very different than the first. Stay tuned for Chapter 2 . . . Two beautiful women, one hunky bachelor, and one diamond engagement ring. Who will he choose??? Join us next time for The Passions' Bachelor.]

* _Constance is a character from my story "One Way or Another." Hey, if _Passions_ can blatantly advertise their book in the middle of a show, I too can join in on the shameless promotions. "One Way or Another" is available only at fanfiction.net. :-)_


	2. The Passions' Bachelor

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CHAPTER 2- THE PASSIONS' BACHELOR

Ethan paced across the bedroom floor. In just a few minutes he was due to meet Theresa and Gwen downstairs and make his final decision, but he still didn't know what his choice would be.

He wasn't the type of person who entered into something as serious as marriage lightly, but he knew he couldn't keep jumping back and forth between the two women forever. It wasn't fair to anyone. This indecision had gone on long enough and it was time to put an end to it once and for all.

Ethan reached into the pocket of his dinner jacket and pulled out the ring box. He flipped it open and gazed at the sparkling diamond ring as if the answer to his dilemma were hidden within it's flawless facets. He imagined sliding the ring onto each woman's finger, how each would react to a proposal, and facing each woman at the end of the aisle on their wedding day . . .

He quickly snapped the box closed. There was no use. He was equally in love with both women. How could he choose between them and know for certain that he was making the right decision?

No closer to an answer, he slipped the ring box back into his pocket. Maybe he would just have to be honest and tell them that he couldn't decide.

As he pulled his hand out of his pocket, it brushed against something. He grasped the stiff piece of paper between his fingers and lifted it out to see what it was.

PRUDENCE BREWER  
- Advice columnist -  
"practical advice for practical people"

He wrinkled his brow a moment as he tried to remember where the business card had come from. In a moment it came back to him. He'd almost forgotten about that strange young woman at the party. He wasn't sure what she had been doing there (other than fishing for business) or what her qualifications were, but he was in desperate need of advice. So he took a seat at the desk and searched for some paper to write on.

__

Dear Prudence,

I'm a young lawyer in my mid 20s. In recent years I've suffered a few set backs, which I won't go into now, but I've been working on getting my life back on track. Now that I've regained confidence in the stability of my professional life, I feel that it is time to put my personal life in order as well.

At this point in my life I feel ready to get married and start a family. I've even purchased an engagement ring. The problem is that there are two very special women in my life, who I love equally, and I can't decide which woman I should spend the rest of my life with.

I should probably tell you that I have been engaged to both of these women in the past, but the weddings fell through. I was engaged to "Jen" before I met "Lisa". "Jen" has always been there for me. She has been my rock. I have never met a woman so steady and reliable and so in tuned to me. She is truly a beautiful woman and I know she would make a wonderful wife for me. But every time we start to get serious, "Lisa" comes back into the picture.

Like "Jen," "Lisa" is a beautiful and extraordinary woman. I've never met anyone so full of determination and faith. She sparks something in me which "Jen" does not. I know, without a doubt, that I would be married to "Lisa" today if she had only been honest with me. I had to call off our first engagement, just before we were married, when I found out that she had lied and kept important secrets from me. Since then, trust has been a major issue for us.

I have remained friends with both women and have gone back and forth in my relationships with them. I honestly love both women with all of my heart, and both have been entirely supportive of me, but this situation isn't working out for any of us.

All three of us are tired of this bouncing back and forth and have decided that the only solution is to settle this once and for all. Tonight, I fully intend to ask one of these special women to be my wife, until death do us part, and end this indecision once and for all. But I don't want to make a decision I may regret for the rest of my life. What should I do? Should I choose "Jen," the woman who can guarantee me a marriage based on trust? Or "Lisa," the woman I once believed to be my one true love?

Signed,  
Indecisive in Harmony

Ethan sighed as he laid down his pen and put the letter aside. He glanced at his watch. Gwen and Theresa would be waiting for him by now. It was time to go downstairs and face the music.

.

Prudence stepped out of her hotel bathroom, dressed in a terrycloth robe and drying her hair with a rough hotel towel. She wandered around the room, glancing idly at the generic decor, before flopping down on the bed. She was trying to decide between watching TV and ordering room service or just calling it a night and going to bed.

She was about to reach for the remote to see what was on, when a sheet of paper suddenly materialized on the bedside table. She drew back her hand and grinned at the sight of the letter. A customer already. Tonight might be more interesting that she thought. 

She quickly snatched up the letter before hurrying to retrieve the stationary from her suitcase.

.

Ethan stood in the hallway outside of the drawing room for a moment, hesitating. Before going inside he peeked through the doorway and saw Theresa and Gwen sitting on the sofa waiting for him. He didn't notice the little jabs (physical and verbal) they sent back and forth at each other. When he looked at them he only saw the two most wonderful women he had ever met. They were both so beautiful and yet so different. He knew one of these special women would be the love of his life, but he still wasn't sure which one it would be. He couldn't stall any longer, it was time to go in and make his decision. He took a deep breath and plunged into the drawing room.

"Hello," Ethan said somberly as he entered the room. Gwen and Theresa stopped poking at each other for a moment to devote their attention to Ethan. "Thanks for meeting me here. I wanted to talk to both of you at once."

"It's no problem, Ethan," Gwen replied.

Not wanting to be shown up, Theresa quickly added, "Go ahead, Ethan."

"Well, you both know that I was planning to propose to one of you tonight," he said as he began pacing across the room. Both of the women followed him with their eyes and their smiles brightened when he mentioned the proposal. "This has been a very difficult decision for me. You know I care about both of you deeply and you're both so wonderful in your own ways. Actually, I don't know what I did to deserve the love of two such beautiful, loving, special women like you."

"You didn't have to do anything, Ethan. You're a wonderful man," Gwen replied with an admiring smile.

Theresa muttered under her breath, "Suck up." But was quick to add in her two cents. "She's right, Ethan. I sometimes wonder what I did to deserve a wonderful man like you."

"That makes two of us," Gwen mumbled.

"Thanks," Ethan continued, oblivious to the brewing antagonism between the two women. "I want both of you to know that this is the hardest decision that I've ever had to make. I wish I could choose both of you, but I only have one ring and despite the example Julian has showed us, polygamy is illegal in this state."

Ethan paused a second as a thought came to his mind. A glimmer of inspiration shone in his eyes.

"Well?" Gwen and Theresa said at once.

"Don't keep us in suspense?"

"Who do you choose?"

"I can't believe I didn't think of this before," Ethan said to himself, but he spoke loud enough that the words didn't escape the ears of the eager women before him.

"What?"

"It's so simple. We'll move to Utah, join the Mormon Church, and practice polygamy."

"What?!?" the women exclaimed in shock.

.

Prudence sat at the desk of her hotel room, pen in hand. The television next to her was turned on, magically projecting the scene between Ethan, Gwen, and Theresa in the Crane mansion as it happened.

"Oh no," she mumbled, covering her face with her hands. "Doesn't the boy know sarcasm when he hears it?"

Quickly she scratched out the few lines she had written and began again, as the scene on the television continued to play in the background.

"You have got to be kidding, Ethan!" Gwen recoiled in disgust.

"You expect me to leave my home, my family, and my religion, just so you can be married to Gwen?" Theresa demanded.

Gwen arose from her seat. "If you think I would marry you, while you are married to Theresa, you must be out of your mind."

This was getting serious, Prudence turned her focus from the flickering screen to the paper in front of her and quickly began to write.

__

Dear Indecisive, 

Why are you in such a hurry to tie the knot? You sound like an intelligent, respectable, and attractive young man. You have plenty of time to settle down and start a family.

I think there's a good reason why you're worried about making a regrettable decision. As long as you love both of these women equally, as you say you do, you'll be wondering 'what if' no matter who you choose.

Real life isn't a so-called "reality" game show. So unless choosing one of these women tonight will win you a million dollars, I say quit watching "The Bachelor" and "Joe Millionaire," put the ring away, and hold off on your proposal until you're more clear about your feelings. Don't rush things. You have plenty of time to figure it out.

Love,   
Prudence 

.

As Gwen started to the door, Theresa grinned to herself. "Gwen would never go for this idea," she muttered to herself. "So I just have to pretend that I do. Once Ethan sees that I'm sticking by him, I'll have him all to myself."

Theresa stood up, gave a shrug of her shoulders and said, "Ok Ethan, if that's what you want, I'll do it."

Gwen threw up her hands in disgust. "You've both lost your minds."

"Gwen, wait," Ethan called. She stopped halfway to the door and turned on her heels to face Ethan, with her arms crossed. "I think I must have lost my mind for a minute there. I don't know what I was thinking." He paced around the room a few steps, gripping the ring box tightly. "I don't know what I've been thinking all evening. Why am I in such a hurry to be married anyway?" He looked earnestly at Gwen and then Theresa. "When I get married I want to make sure it's to the right woman. The one and _only_ woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. And the fact that I can't decide between the two of you and that I would be equally happy to marry either one of you, means that I'm not ready yet. I'm sorry."

He walked out of the room, leaving Gwen and Theresa silently behind.

.

In her hotel room, Prudence watched the scene on fold and clapped her hands in glee at the outcome. Her first customer in Harmony looked like a success.

"This calls for a celebration," she said as she crossed the room. She picked up the telephone receiver and dialed for room service.

.

Back at the mansion, Ethan was just going back to his room after taking a walk around the grounds to clear his mind. The longer he thought about it, the more convinced he was that he did the right thing. Honestly, it seemed to be the best option and the one that was most fair to everyone involved. There was only one more thing he had to do.

"Ethan!" a voice called out.

Ethan turned his head towards the sound and saw his friend approaching from around the corner. "Oh hi, Chad. I thought you went home already."

"I'm on my way. I thought I'd stick around and see how things went tonight. How did it go?"

"Much better than I thought," Ethan said with a relieved sounding sigh.

"C'mon, man. Don't leave me in suspense. Who'd you choose?"

"No one."

"What?"

"I decided to cool things down for awhile and take some time away from Theresa and Gwen until I get my feelings sorted out."

Before Chad could reply, Simone ran up to the pair. She clutched her coat in one arm and grabbed onto Chad with the other.

"Ok, Chad. I'm all ready to go!"

"Why don't you go on out to the car? I'll be there in a minute."

"Don't take long," she said, reaching up to give Chad a kiss on the cheek before giddily hurrying out of the room.

"I told Coach Russell I'd give Simone a ride home," he was quick to explain, before Ethan could remark. "Then I'm meeting Whitney at the studio. She's probably wondering what happened to me."

"How long are you going to keep sneaking around like this?"

"I don't know. It's all up to Whitney. She's the one who didn't want to be up front about everything. What other choice do I have?"

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"Don't worry man. I've got it all under control. I'll see you later."

Ethan said goodbye before heading up the stairs to the bedroom that he had been sharing with Gwen. He took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping into the room.

"Gwen, I've been thinking," he said. He stopped short when he saw the blonde woman packing her things into a suitcase. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" she said in a cool, even voice. "You don't expect me to share a room with you after what happened tonight?"

"No," he assured her. "I was just going to suggest that you stay here and I'll move to another room in the mansion." He had thought this situation over while on his walk and decided it would be best if he moved out. Aside from the fact that he wouldn't feel right asking Gwen to leave, he didn't think it would be a good idea to continue sleeping in a bedroom that adjoined Theresa's. It would be easier if he could keep his distance from both of them for awhile.

"Don't bother," Gwen said as she removed her clothes from the dresser and packed them into the suitcase. She kept her focus on what she was doing and hadn't looked at Ethan the entire time he had been in the room. "I have to pack anyway . . .I'm leaving Harmony in the morning."

"What?" Ethan asked, his brow wrinkled in confusion, as he stepped forward.

"I have a job offer in New York," Gwen explained. "The only reason I didn't take it earlier was because of you. Since we aren't getting married now, there's really no reason for me not to accept."

"I think that's a good idea," Ethan agreed with a solemn nod. His tone was neutral revealing only the slightest hint of support. "I don't want to be a burden on your life anymore than I already have."

Gwen lowered the lid on the suitcase and leaned heavily against it as she pushed it shut. She looked up at the man that she still loved, despite everything. "Maybe it will all be for the best." She eased up on the suitcase and gave a little shrug. "I wouldn't be happy being married to you if I thought you were still thinking about Theresa. And I don't think I could live with the jealousy or the guilt if later you wished you had picked her instead of me."

"I wouldn't want that either," Ethan agreed.

.

He hadn't heard officially what had happened, but he knew his half-brother was going to make the choice tonight. When he saw Ethan go into the room that he had shared with Gwen, he drew his own conclusions about what the outcome had been. Secretly he was glad that it wasn't Theresa. Sure he would have been around to console the loser either way, but Theresa was more his type.

Theresa's door was partially opened, so he stealthily crept inside. 

He found Theresa leaning against the connecting door, her ear pressed tightly against it. She was standing with her back to the door that led into the hallway, and she didn't seem to notice that someone had walked in.

Fox shook his head, the poor girl was just torturing herself. He stepped towards her in his easy manner and gently touched her on the shoulder.

Theresa jumped and quickly turned to face him. "Oh! Fox! You scared me!" Her scolding tone made him grin.

"I just stopped by to see how you were doing," he said.

Theresa smiled brightly. "I'm doing great."

Fox was a little confused now. He expected her to be crying her eyes out or desperately plotting how to win Ethan back. The last thing he expected was for her to be so cheerful. She was taking this too well. "But I thought Ethan . . ." he motioned to the room next door.

"No, he didn't," Theresa interrupted. She shook her head quickly, barely containing her excitement. "Gwen's moving to New York," she beamed. She grabbed Fox's arm, smiling joyfully, her eyes full of hope. "I have a chance now. With Gwen out of the way, there's nothing stopping me from winning Ethan back!"

.

[_Does Gwen actually go to New York? Can Ethan stick to his decision? Will Theresa _ever_ give up on Ethan (and realize that Fox is so much better)? And will the author actually address these questions? Only time will tell. Stay tuned for Chapter 3, when Prudence answers her next letter. Somebody's tired of sneaking around . . ._]


	3. Sneaking Around

**CHAPTER 3- SNEAKING AROUND**

Whitney wandered aimlessly around Chad's apartment. She'd already set up the room with fragrant candles and romantic music playing softly on the stereo in the background. She considered striking a sexy pose on the sofa as a surprise greeting for Chad when he came in, but decided against it. What if someone else walked in first or what if he didn't come home alone? What if that someone else just happened to be Simone?

At the thought of Simone, Whitney's heart sank. She felt so awful about sneaking around behind her little sister's back, with the man she considered her boyfriend. But it couldn't be helped.

Thinking about Simone made her restless. She began to pace around the studio, nervously biting at her nails. She glanced at her watch and wondered what was keeping Chad. He was probably having trouble getting away from the party. She could just picture Simone clinging to him at that moment, holding him back.

Things couldn't keep going on this way. Whitney wanted to be honest, but she couldn't tell Simone the truth for fear of hurting her sister. Simone couldn't take the truth, not the way things were going.

Whitney looked at her nails, suddenly realizing what she had been doing. The nail on her right index finger was now jagged from her absent chewing. She grabbed her purse and took a seat. As she searched for a pair of fingernail clippers or a file, she noticed the business card lying on top.

DEAR PRUDENCE  
- Advice columnist -  
"I listen to your problems"

She only glanced at the card before putting it aside, as she continued sifting through the contents of her purse. But her eyes kept glancing back at it.

"An advice columnist?" she thought to herself. It seemed so silly for her to tell her problems to a complete stranger, but then, who else did she have to confide in? Not her family, that's for sure. There was her best friend, Theresa, but she was always so optimistic and confident that true love would win out in the end. It was a nice thought, but Whitney wasn't sure how realistic it was. Besides Theresa had plenty of her own problems to deal with. Of course there had also been Liz, who had been a stranger not too long ago. She had been a good friend and a great listener lately, but Liz wasn't here now.

Whitney picked up the business card and tapped it against her hand thoughtfully as she stood up and crossed to the desk. It couldn't hurt to write the letter. She could decide later if she would actually send it or not.

.

Whitney had just finished writing when she heard the door open behind her. She turned around quickly and was relieved to see that it was Chad, and only Chad.

"Hey. Sorry I took so long," he said as he turned to shut and lock the door and hang up his coat. Whitney took the opportunity to shove the letter that she had just written into her purse.

"That's ok," she shrugged as she rose to meet him.

"What have you been doing?" he asked as he took her in his arms.

"Nothing important. Just waiting for you," she replied, pausing in her speech as he greeted her with a kiss. "What took you so long?"

"I decided to hang around the party a little longer to talk to Ethan."

"What happened with the engagement?" Whitney asked anxiously.

"There is no engagement. Ethan decided to break it off with Theresa and Gwen."

"Oh poor Theresa," she said sympathetically. "Maybe I should go check on her. She might need me."

Whitney made a move towards the door, but Chad held her back. "Theresa will be fine," he said, leaning his face closer to hers. "Besides, right now, I think I need you more."

.

Prudence laid across the lumpy hotel bed in a slumped half sitting position. She held the television remote in one hand and flipped through the stations. 150 channels on this thing and all of it junk. She let out a bored sigh and was about to abandon the effort when a letter magically appeared on her desk.

"Oh that's just what I needed," she cried out happily and hurried over to read it.

_Dear Prudence,_

I'm in love with a really great guy, who I'll call "Brad," and I know he's in love with me as well. The problem is my little sister, "Sharone," also has strong feelings with him. Through a series of misunderstandings my sister has come to believe that "Brad" is her boyfriend, when I'm the one that he really wants to be with.

I've pushed "Brad" away several times because I didn't want to hurt "Sharone," but my feelings for him are too strong to ignore. Recently "Brad" and I have started seeing each other secretly. He keeps telling me that I need to be honest with my family and tell them about our relationship, but I can't bring myself to do it. I know my sister would be crushed and so would my father (he's depending on me to continue our family legacy and insists that there's no room in my life for dating). I'm really afraid of how they might react if they found out.

I know that "Brad" and I can't keep sneaking around like this and that my family will have to know about our relationship someday, but I'm not sure how I'm going to tell them. My idea is to keep my relationship with "Brad" a secret while I prove to my father that I can be successful in my work and have a boyfriend at the same time and while "Brad" shows "Sharone" that they have nothing in common, making her lose interest in him. My biggest worry is that we'll get caught before my plan works out.

Should I stick with my plan and hope it works out or should I follow "Brad's" advice and just come out and tell my family the truth?

Signed,  
Tired of Lying and Sneaking Around

Prudence tapped her fingers against the desk as she thought of her reply. She set down the letter and pointed at the television screen to see what was going on now. The screen showed Chad and Whitney in his apartment, madly kissing each other and pulling off each other's clothes as they descended to the couch.

"She doesn't act too worried," Prudence thought to herself with a raise of her eyebrow.

As she started to write her reply, the sounds of kissing, heavy breathing, and soft moaning from the television became too distracting. She looked up at the screen as she was about to turn off the volume and was presented with more bare flesh than she cared to look at. With a wave of her hand, the sound was muted and the screen turned away from her.

"That's better," she said, turning back to her letter.

_ Dear Tired,_

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but that is one of the dumbest plans I've ever heard! Do you really think that distracting your sister and proving your skills to you father is going to cancel the fact that you've been lying to them? That plan might work for your dad, but the way your sister feels about "Brad" later isn't going to change the fact that you were with sneaking around with him when she did like him and thought he was her boyfriend.

While "Brad's" total honesty approach is commendable, I would advise against it too. Honesty can be brutal and can leave you with a big mess to clean up afterwards. Unless keeping your relationship with "Brad" up to this point a secret is going to be a burden on your conscience, you should just keep your past together to yourselves.

So, now that plan A and plan B are both out and you can't keep carrying on as you have been, you're down to one option. You have to stop seeing this guy.

Before you panic, let me finish. I don't mean you have to stop seeing him forever, but just for now. If you want any sort of long term relationship with "Brad," you have to stop sneaking around and hold off on this relationship until you get these problems straightened out.

I'm sure you already know that this isn't going to be easy, but here's how I think you should go about it. As soon as you get the chance, you need to have a talk with "Brad". Make it clear to him that, for the time being, you have to agree to stop seeing each other, completely. That means no private moments, no stolen kisses, and no . . .secret rendezvous. Nothing. If he really loves you and if he really wants to be honest, as he says he does, he can wait.

Next, "Brad" has to break up with your sister. It may seem silly to the two of you, since they aren't actually dating, but to your sister this is a real relationship. The simple thing to do is treat it as one. If "Brad" doesn't want to date "Sharone" or wants to date someone else, the truth needs to come from him. I don't know why "Brad" is putting all of the pressure on you to tell her. As far as "Sharone" is concerned, the relationship is just between her and "Brad" and has nothing to do with you. Let her keep thinking that and stay out of it.

I admire the fact that you don't want your sister to get hurt, but you can't shelter her from everything. There's no doubt that she'll be hurt by the break up, but it's just a part of life that almost everyone has to go through. There is such a thing as "letting her down gently." Although even the gentlest break up isn't easy, it's much less painful than finding out that your sister's snaked your boyfriend. Believe me!

What you can do is be a good sister to her after the break up. Be supportive in her time of loss, maybe try to help her get over "Brad" and meet new people. What you absolutely cannot do is start dating "Brad" yourself, not yet. You still have to wait.

After a sufficient amount of time has passed and "Sharone" has started to move on with her life, then, and only then, can you start a relationship with "Brad." This time you need to be open about your relationship, tell your family that you're dating him before you actually do anything. You'll be starting on a clean slate and your chances of succeeding are going to be much better. As far as anyone has to know, your relationship with "Brad" is a new development. Anything that happened before then is best kept between you and "Brad."

To follow this plan, you're going to have to be very patient, but if you really want a long term relationship with this guy and with your family, I think this is your best shot.

As for your father . . .some parents have trouble acknowledging that their children are growing up, especially fathers with daughters. Give him some time to get used to the idea and he'll come around eventually. I'm sure he wouldn't deny you the opportunity of having a life and a family of your own someday and if he does, he really isn't being fair to you.

Good luck!

Love,  
Prudence

.

There was a knock on the hotel door as a voice on the other side called out, "room service." Prudence took a deep breath and stretched as she laid down her pen. It sounded like she had finished her work right on time. 

If she didn't deserve this before, she certainly felt like she did now. She held her robe securely closed as she opened the door.

A young man entered, pushing a cart in front of him. He handed Prudence a bill and she scribbled down her signature. As she handed the bill back to him she noticed the strange look on the young man's face. His eyebrow was slightly raised and he gave her a sly and goofy, almost salacious, grin.

Prudence was confused and slightly startled. What was the meaning behind his expression? To find out she followed his roving eyes into the room behind her. As she turned she noticed the television still playing the scene at Chad's apartment. The screen was mostly filled with naked flesh as the couple went at it full steam, in the throws of passion.

Prudence turned quickly from the sight feeling her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. In one fluid motion she shoved the amused room service guy into the hallway and pushed the door closed behind him. She leaned heavily against the door, trying to ignore the laughter in the hallway, as she waved her arm back to turn off the television screen behind her.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. How embarrassing was that? She sighed and pushed herself forward. There was nothing she could do to change what had happened, so she decided to forget about it and try to enjoy her meal. As she lifted the lid on the cart she wondered how long it would be until it was safe to check up on her latest response.

.

Chad and Whitney were in his bed, arms around each other as they snuggled under the sheets. She leaned her head on his shoulder and ran her fingers across his chest. When she sighed deeply for the second time in a row, he caressed her jaw with one finger before tipping her chin up, so that she looked him in the eye.

"Is everything alright?"

She turned onto her side and smiled at her lover. "Oh it's wonderful, Chad. Except I hate that we have to sneak around like this."

"I know. That's why I kept trying to get you to tell your family about us. You're making yourself miserable."

"I want to tell them, but they would be crushed. My dad has all these plans for me and my tennis career and Simone thinks that you're her boyfriend. She would never forgive me."

"And you can't have that," Chad agreed as he reached up and caressed her bare arm. 

"We'll just have to stick to the plan," Whitney said as Chad began kissing her neck. "I'll win the tennis championships for my dad, proving that I can still play tennis and have a love life while you show Simone that you two have nothing in common. Once she realizes you aren't right for each other, she'll lose interest and no one will be hurt."

"Right, baby," Chad mumbled as he moved his lips closer to hers. "You're always right."

Whitney's eyes suddenly blinked open and she pulled away from her lover slightly. "Chad."

When he realized she had stopped kissing him back, he groaned in disappointment. "Oh, baby, what is it _now_?"

Before Whitney could speak, there was a knock at the door.

"Chad?" the voice from the hallway called out.

Whitney jerked to a sitting position. "Oh my God. It's Simone. What are we going to do?" she whispered frantically.

"Don't worry. I'll get rid of her," Chad replied as he stood up and pulled on his pants.

Once Whitney had grabbed her clothes and safely shut herself in the closet, Chad answered the door.

"Hey Chad," Simone said with a wide smile as she threw her arms around her beloved. 

"What are you doing here, Simone?" Chad asked. As Simone walked into the room, Chad tried to maneuver himself in front of her and keep her close to the door.

Simone didn't seem to notice and continued chatting away. "I just wanted to spend time with my boyfriend. I would have walked in and surprised you, but the door was locked. What took you so long to answer the door?"

"Well," Chad hesitated, sending a nervous glance towards the closet. "I fell asleep. You know, Simone, it's kind of late. Why don't I take you home?"

"Oh Chad, but I just got here. And I was hoping to spend some time with you . . .alone."

"Yeah, but I don't want to make your family mad. If they realize that you're out so late, they'll come after me to look for you, and if they find us here together, they might change their minds about letting us date."

"I guess you're right," she pouted. "You're so sweet."

"Why don't you go on downstairs. I'll throw on some shoes and a jacket and meet you down there."

As soon as Simone left the room, Chad opened the closet door to check on Whitney. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she sighed and shook her head. "That was too close, Chad. What if you had forgotten to lock the door? What if Simone would have seen something of mine in your studio?"

"But those things didn't happen. And they won't as long as we're careful."

"I don't know how long I can keep doing this," Whitney continued. "I hate all of this sneaking around and lying and always being so careful about our every move."

"I've been trying to tell you all along. All you've got to do is tell everyone the truth about us."

"No, I've got a better idea. Why don't you break up with Simone?" 

"What?" Chad asked, with a sudden slightly defensive tone to his voice. "You know, I'm not really going out with Simone, Whitney. She only thinks I like her, but you know I don't have those kinds of feelings for her. Just you."

"I know that, Chad," she said softly. "But Simone doesn't. You should just take her aside and let her down gently. Tell her that you don't think you have anything in common and that she'd be better off with someone else, maybe someone her own age or something. Then after she has had some time to get over it and move on, we could tell everyone about us. She wouldn't have to know that we've been sneaking around and she wouldn't be hurt at all."

"I don't know, Whitney," he said, moving away from her. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" she demanded. "It's perfect."

"You know Simone," Chad hesitated. "She never gives anyone a chance to tell her anything."

"I know, but you'll make her listen."

"And you said yourself how sensitive she is. What if she snapped? Either she'd hate me and that wouldn't make it easy for us to go out, or more likely, she wouldn't give me up without a fight."

"I hadn't thought of that," she said with disappointment. "Maybe you're right. This is hopeless! I guess we'll never really be together. Why did I think we could be?" 

"Don't talk like that, baby. We'll make it work out somehow, I promise," he said taking her in his arms and kissing her. "Look, I've got to go before Simone comes up here looking for me."

"Right. I should be getting home too before my parents miss me."

"Ok, I'll see you there," he said and kissed her goodbye before leaving the studio.

.

Alone again in the studio, Whitney finished dressing, smoothed back her hair and reached for her coat and purse. As she headed home she thought over her situation. She really thought her latest plan was a good one. It really sounded like it might work, but she decided that Chad was probably right. Even the best sounding ideas had too many ways to go wrong and not much chance to go right. It was hopeless, she concluded. She and Chad would never be together, not in the way they wanted. 

An affirmation of her thought was laid out right before her eyes as she walked into the Russell house. Simone was standing with Chad in the middle of the living room, her arms wrapped around Chad's neck. 

At the sound of the front door opening, Chad flinched. He gave Whitney a awkward, helpless shrug as she entered and gently tried to push Simone away. 

Simone looked at Chad with confusion before turning to see who had come in. "Whitney, what are you doing out so late? I thought you came home early to get some sleep." 

"Oh, I did," Whitney lied. "But I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk, to clear my head." The three stood silently in the living room for a moment before the silence became far too awkward. "I guess I'll be going up to bed then," Whitney said hesitantly before heading towards the stairs. "Good night." 

Chad followed her with his eyes as she left the room, "Good night." 

Simone noticed the little smile that her sister was giving her boyfriend and she clung to him possessively, until she was safely out of the room.

"Chad, why do you always pull away from me when Whitney is around?"

"Do I do that?" Chad stalled as he tried to come up with a suitable reply. "I guess it's because I just feel sorry for Whitney." 

Simone smirked, "Why would you feel sorry for her? Whitney's the one who has everything."

"But you know having it all isn't always what it's cracked up to be. With her tennis career and everything, Whitney knows she doesn't have time to date and then she has to come home and see how happy we are together . . ."

"I bet that would be hard," Simone agreed thoughtfully. "Poor Whitney. All alone." She smiled and gave Chad a hug. "I'm so lucky to have a caring considerate guy like you." 

"Then you agree that we should be real casual around Whitney, so she doesn't feel so bad?" 

"Oh right, of course. It'll be hard, but I'll try," Simone stretched up to kiss Chad, but stopped when she heard Whitney come back downstairs. She lowered herself to the flats of her feet and turned to face her older sister with her hands on her hips. "I thought you were going to sleep, Whitney," she said, enunciating each word carefully.

"I was. I am," Whitney replied. "I just wanted to check on my tennis schedule first." 

Simone frowned as Whitney looked through a stack of papers on the desk. Then turned to Chad with a bright smile. "Why don't I go get us something to drink and then we can watch a movie together?" 

"I don't know. It's kind of late." 

"It's not that late. Besides, my parents aren't even home yet. It'll be fun. Wait here. I'll be right back." 

As Simone hurried off to the kitchen, Chad walked over to Whitney. "I'm really sorry about all this." 

"I know, me too," Whitney agreed. "I just want to sort this all out and be done with it." 

"Look. I'll tell Simone that I have to leave, then I'll try to sneak up to your room." 

"No, Chad," Whitney sighed. "Until Simone knows that you aren't her boyfriend, I don't think we should be together." 

"But Whitney," he started, but was interrupted by Simone as she returned to the room, talking about snacks and movie choices. He looked at Whitney pleadingly as she gave an apologetic shrug and started back upstairs.

. 

Whitney tossed and turned under the covers. After what had happened tonight she was never going to get to sleep. She just hoped that she did the right thing.

An hour passed before she realized that she never heard Chad leave the house. She looked out the window to see his car still parked in the driveway. Simone must have roped him into watching a movie with her after all, unless Chad was actually taking this time to break up with her. 

She tossed and turned a few more times before giving up and getting out of bed. Curiosity got the better of her and she headed downstairs. 

She was surprised to find that the living room was totally dark and she was even more surprised at what she saw when she turned on the light. 

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"Whitney!" Chad exclaimed as he lifted himself up from the couch and pulled his lips and his body away from Simone's.

Simone, looking somewhat embarrassed, pulled herself into a sitting position, disentangling herself from Chad as she backed away from him. "I'm sorry, you had to see that, Whitney. I know it's not easy for you, not having a boyfriend, but Chad is my boyfriend and we are both adults and we're in love. Things are going to happen."

"I thought I did have a boyfriend," Whitney said looking at Chad accusingly. "So Chad, is this your idea of showing Simone that you aren't right for each other."

"What are you talking about?" Simone asked blankly.

"No, no, you've got it all wrong, Whit," Chad struggled to explain. "Simone, why don't you run to the kitchen and get your sister something to drink. She doesn't look too well."

Simone started towards the kitchen, but stopped when Whitney called out to her. "Wait, Simone. Chad has some explaining to do and he needs to do it in front of both of us."

"What's your problem, Whitney?" Simone asked innocently.

"My problem is," she said, glaring at Chad. "That I come downstairs to find my boyfriend making out with my sister."

"Now hold on," Simone interrupted. "I knew you were jealous. And I don't think I didn't notice how you tried to steal _my_ boyfriend from behind my back. But Chad is just that, _my_ boyfriend. Not yours. And I think it's time I told you that."

"Simone," Whitney said sternly.

"No let me finish," Simone continued. "You're my sister and I tried to think the best of you, but this is out of hand. I wanted you to be nice to him, but I can't _believe_ you would try to steal your own sister's boyfriend away from her. That is low, Whitney. Chad is _my_ boyfriend and he loves _me_, not you. Tell her, Chad."

"Yeah, Chad," Whitney spoke up, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why don't you tell us what's really going on? Why don't you explain how you could have sex with me and then make out with my sister all in the same night?"

"Wait," Simone interrupted. She approached Whitney, threateningly. "Are you saying you had sex with my boyfriend? You bitch!" She reached over and slapped Whitney in the face. Whitney's head flipped back and she grabbed the side of her face, where her cheek stung from the blow. As soon as she recovered, Simone swung again, but this time Whitney was ready and she grabbed her sister's arm before her hand made contact again. Simone attacked with her left and soon the sisters were grappling with one another in a vicious cat fight.

Chad looked on from a distance, captivated. A cat fight between the two sisters that he had been juggling was kind of a turn on, but common sense told him this wasn't the place for him to be. There was no way to talk his way out of this mess. He managed to tear his gaze away from the struggle and start across the room. Before he could open the door, Dr. and Coach Russell walked in, along with their house guest, Liz.

"What's going on here?" Eve cried out as she saw her daughters clawing at each other entangled in a heap on the floor. She was horrified. This was exactly like that vision she saw last summer when she looked into the tea leaves.

"I-I was just coming to get you guys, to get help," Chad stuttered. "I don't know what's going on."

"Chad, give me a hand," T.C. ordered as he rushed forward and tried to pry the fighting sisters apart. He managed to grab Simone by the waist and pull her up, but she dragged Whitney along with her, by the front of her shirt. There was no way out for Chad now, so he grabbed Whitney and pulled her away from Simone.

"What is going on?" Eve demanded as she stepped in-between her struggling daughters. Simone was still trying to attack Whitney, but Whitney wasn't interested in fighting. She squirmed her way out of Chad's grasp. She didn't want him to touch her now, knowing what she did.

"Whitney just told me she had sex with Chad," Simone cried out. 

"What?" T.C. exclaimed as Eve gasped, Liz watched from the background, andWhitney hung her head in shame. "You must have misunderstood, Sugar Bear. Whitney would never have sex with her own sister's boyfriend. She would never do anything like that." 

"No. She did, Daddy. And she admitted it herself. The slut!" Simone lunged forward and T.C. held her back. 

"Whitney?" Eve said softly, laying a hand on her elder daughter's shoulder. 

"It's true," Whitney said, shaking as she fought back the angry tears. "Only I didn't know that Chad was really dating Simone." 

"Liar!" Simone shouted. 

"He said their whole relationship was a misunderstanding and that he was really in love with me. But I guess you were lying to both of us weren't you, Chad?" 

"Whitney, I . . ." Chad pleaded, but was quickly cut off. 

"I don't want to hear anything more from you," T.C. interrupted. The only thing keeping him from knocking out Chad was the fact that he was wrestling with Simone to keep her away from Whitney. "The way you treated my daughters, when we trusted you . . ."

"Chad, you'd better go," Eve said sternly.

As Chad took her advice, T.C. couldn't control his temper any longer. He let go of Simone and started after Chad. "Boy, if I ever see your face around here, around anywhere, I'll kill you!"

"Daddy, no!" Simone cried out. She sent a venomous glance towards Whitney. "I hope you're happy Whitney. This is all your fault!"

"I'm so sorry, Simone. I didn't know."

"Save it!"

In the midst of the arguing between T.C. and Chad and Whitney and Simone, Liz moved over to Eve and grabbed her arm to keep her from moving away before she could deliver her latest scalding remark. "Well Eve, looks like your perfect life is falling apart before your eyes."

  
  
_[I've got to take a minute to thank my reviewers. You're all so sweet. And favorites lists! Geez, I'm honored! I guess it pays to write for an active category. Rox fans, I got your message loud and clear.   
Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out, I meant to have this one up earlier, but . . .I'll spare you all my excuses, unless you really want to know. Unfortunately I doubt the next chapter will be finished any quicker. Next time, Prudence discovers that tomorrow is more than just another day.]_


	4. Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

**CHAPTER 4- WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE**

Antonio opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by a now familiar darkness. He could hear the voices of his family trying to reach him, trying to convince him to come back to them, but he could do nothing to respond to them. There was no way for him to let them know that he heard them, no way for him to fight his way out of this darkness. 

_"You've got to understand that we fell in love before you and Sheridan even met. We were going to get married, but our boat exploded and she got amnesia . . .I want you to get better. You've got to fight this disease and come back us, but if you can't do it, just let go. If you won't do it for yourself, Antonio, do it for Sheridan."_

His brother's pleas ringing at in his ears, Antonio bent at the knees and lowered himself into an invisible chair. He buried his head in his hands and sat silently for a moment. Luis's confession hurt more than an injury or disease ever could. 

"Want to talk about it?" a voice asked. It sounded only slightly familiar to Antonio, as if he'd heard it once before, but didn't quite know it well enough to place it. 

He looked up and saw a woman sitting in front of him, holding a pen and notebook in her lap. Her hand was poised above the paper as if she had just paused in her writing. He studied her face trying to figure out who she was, but couldn't place that either. There was nothing distinctive about her looks. She could have been any woman. 

"Why not?" he shrugged. 

The woman only nodded in reply and patiently waited for him to go on. 

The seat he was perched upon turned out to be a sofa, not a chair at all. The place where they were was too dark to see that at first. He turned sideways and laid down on his back with his hands under his head and his elbows jutting out, staring into the murky black darkness above as he gathered his thoughts. 

"Well, it's like this. I met this amazing woman . . .amazing doesn't even begin to describe her. She's the love of my life. Things were going pretty well for us. I asked her to marry me and she said yes, so we went back to my home town to meet my family and get married. 

"Oddly enough, it turned out that we were from the same home town. My wife had amnesia when I met her and I guess something must have jogged her memory. Since she got her memory back things have been a little strained between us. I didn't know if she'd remembered some bad memories from her past or if she'd just been stressed out about my illness. You see, my health has been getting worse since we came back to town. 

"But now I finally found out the truth. Before we met she and my brother were in love and planning to get married. The worst part as that they weren't up front with me. They've been sneaking around and trying to keep this a secret from me for months. My brother waited until now, when I can't do anything about it, to tell me. 

"Now I've got to decide, do I pretend that I still don't know anything about what's going on or do I call them on it? And if I do face this head on, should I give my wife a divorce or should I hold her to my wedding vows? I love her more than I ever thought I could love another person. And honestly, I'm not sure if I want to live without her as my wife . . .What do you think I should do?" 

Antonio turned his head sideways to look at the woman. She sat with her legs crossed, tapping her pencil against her cheek as she stared forward thoughtfully. After a brief pause she lowered the pencil and looked Antonio in the eye. 

"Well, first of all, before you can do anything, you've got to wake up." 

"What?" 

"Wake up." 

. 

With a gasp of breath and a slight jerk, Prudence woke up suddenly. At first she felt disoriented and it took her a minute to recognize her surroundings as the hotel room that she checked into the night before. 

The room was quiet except for the rumbling of the heating/ air conditioning unit by the window. The air was stuffy and still, even more so as the bright morning sun shone through the curtains and warmed the room. Since there didn't seem to be anything in the room that had awakened her so abruptly, she decided it most have been something that she dreamed, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what that might have been. 

What ever it had been, she was wide awake and decided that she might as well get up. She rubbed at her eyes and smoothed back her hair as she stretched in the lumpy hotel bed, rustling against the stiff sheets. 

"If I stay here another night, I'm going to have to make some better sleeping arrangements," she thought to herself. 

By the time she was up and dressed she was itching to get out of the stale hotel room, so she packed up her briefcase and headed out to look around the town. 

As she paused by the front desk to glance at the visitor's information on her way out she heard a voice close behind her say, "If you're looking for something to do, I know of a video store you might be interested in." 

Prudence looked up and saw her room service guy from the night before, grinning at her lewdly. She forcefully dropped the papers she was looking at, snatched up her briefcase, and headed out the door in a huff. She was half tempted to turn the nasty little boy into a frog or a maggot or something, but held off her temper. What kind of example would she be giving if she acted like that? It was no way to really deal with a problem. But, on the other hand, she couldn't deny the momentary satisfaction it gave. 

She walked a few blocks before her frustration melted away and she started to notice that things around her seemed different than the day before. Something had changed over night. When she paused at a shop window, it finally came to her. All of the Christmas decorations were gone. The red and white Santas, the blue and silver snowflakes, and the golden garland Christmas trees had all vanished over night and in their place were red and pink hearts and grinning Cupids. 

It just didn't make sense. She knew that the commercialization of holidays seemed out of hand sometimes with Christmas creeping up in stores and on television before Thanksgiving and even Halloween. But advertising for Valentine's Day before Christmas just didn't make sense. After all it was only mid-December . . .or it was the last time she checked. 

Feeling slightly disoriented, yet again, Prudence decided that maybe she should find someplace to sit down and have something to eat. Or, upon noticing a sign just ahead for "The Book Cafe," she thought, maybe a cup of coffee. 

Prudence surveyed the interior of the cafe with approval. It seemed to be a cozy little place with lots of bookcases and a counter at one end for ordering food and drinks. A few people were seated at tables sipping on coffees and reading. 

As she looked at the pastries for sale she noticed a day by day calendar sitting behind the counter that was turned to February 12. As she stared at the calendar trying to make sense of it, she reached out and touched the arm of a person walking past. 

"Is that calendar right?" she asked. As she turned to face the person she had randomly stopped, she noticed that it was none other than Beth Wallace. 

"Oh, no," she replied with a shake of her head. She walked around the counter and set down the coffee pot that she was carrying before tearing another page off of the calendar. "I'm sorry about that. I forgot to change it this morning." 

"Really?" Prudence asked, dumbfounded. She stared ahead with a confused expression as she wondered to herself exactly how long had she slept? 

"Yeah. Last night was a long night," Beth confessed. "It must have slipped my mind." She paused a second, studying Prudence, before speaking again. "Didn't I see you at the Crane party last night? You gave me one of your business cards." 

"Yes," Prudence answered with a nod. "That was last night," she repeated slowly. "But what happened to Christmas and New Years?" she blurted out, barely stopping herself before adding 'and the whole month of January.' 

Then it was Beth's turn to look confused. "What do you mean?" 

Prudence struggled to explain, but found herself at a loss for words. 

"Nothing happened to them. Everyone I know celebrated like usual, didn't you?" 

As Prudence shook her head, Beth looked at her with concern, wondering if maybe the woman was a little bit unbalanced. "Um, are you alright? Can I get you anything?" 

Prudence tried to collect her thoughts and managed to place an order before walking across the room and taking a seat at an unoccupied table. Mechanically, she set her briefcase down on the table and sat down on the chair in front of it. She ran the puzzle over in her mind again. It had been mid-December when she had came into town the day before, of that she had been sure. She went to bed and woke up the next morning to find that it's February already. A month had passed overnight and no one else seemed to be alarmed. Of all of the supernatural phenomenon she had seen in her life this was one of the strangest. But since she knew that trying to figure it out would probably be a waste of time that would lead her nowhere, she decided to forget about it and focus on the more important issues at hand. 

As she opened her briefcase and began to set up her laptop, she glanced around the cafe in search of any other familiar faces. She spotted one standing near the counter as he answered his chirping cell phone. She gazed at Hank Bennett admiringly for a moment and decided that last night's assessment of him seemed to be right on. Adonis was the only word for him. 

"Feeling better?" someone asked. Prudence looked up and saw that Beth had come by her table with a refill. 

"Much better. Thanks," she replied. 

"Good," Beth replied, although she seemed too distracted to really be interested in the reply. "Since you're an advice columnist, I was wondering if you could help me out with a problem . . .Whatever I say will be kept just between you and me, right?" 

"Sure. Absolutely," Prudence nodded as she took another sip of coffee and carefully set the mug down on the table before giving her undivided attention to Beth who was already sliding into the chair next to her. 

Beth took a deep breath and exhaled before she began to speak. "I need to figure out how to get rid of a blonde heiress and a meddlesome mother who keep causing problems for me." 

"Well," Prudence began with a contemplative frown. "Have you tried talking to them about how you feel? Maybe they don't realize-" 

Beth shook her head, cutting off Prudence's reply. "No, you don't understand. I meant, like where's a good place to hide the bodies?" 

"Oh. I see," she said slowly, reaching for the coffee mug, but not lifting it up to take a drink. "Sorry I can't give you that kind of advice. I would have to strongly advise against killing anyone. There's really no excuse for intentionally taking a life." 

"Oh!" Beth said, pretending to be startled. "Did you think I was serious? I wasn't talking about me. Of course, _I_ wouldn't kill anyone," she lied. "It's for a book I'm writing." To emphasize her point she motioned to the shelves around her. "You see, I've always liked books and I could really use some extra income, so I thought I'd try to write my own." 

Prudence smirked, "Of course." 

Before anything else could be said, Hank hurried over from the counter, cell phone in hand. "Beth, Luis just called me from the hospital, Antonio's finally coming out of his coma." 

"Oh my God. Are you serious?" she asked, raising to her feet. 

"Yeah, I'm headed over there now." 

"I'll go with you," she said as they both hurried away, leaving Prudence alone at her table. 

"Coma?" she repeated to herself, wondering exactly how much she had missed. 

Quickly, she set up her laptop, typed in a few key strokes, and soon she had a live video image of Antonio's hospital room on the screen. Sure enough, he was lying in a hospital bed with his mother sitting on one side, Sheridan on the other side, and his brothers behind them. They were all smiling and sharing how happy they were that Antonio was finally awake again. 

"Well, I guess it's true," Prudence thought to herself. "I wonder what I missed." 

She pressed a few more keys on the laptop to back up the video and find out what had happened between the last time she'd seen Antonio, Sheridan, and Luis until the hospital scene that she was currently viewing. She discovered that she had missed a lot. 

After the party there was a half successful double wedding, where Beth's mother had a heart attack preventing her from marrying Luis, but not stopping Antonio from marrying Sheridan. Then there was the honeymoon, where Sheridan and Luis ran into each other at the hotel and Antonio collapsed into a coma followed by the trip to the hospital and Sheridan's excruciatingly slow, yet urgently needed, decision about whether or not to give Antonio the experimental drug. (When Sheridan finally announced her decision, Prudence grinned wryly to herself,. It looked like someone in this town could solve a problem without her help.) Via the laptop she heard Sheridan and Luis making their bedside confessions to Antonio. Something about what they said seemed oddly familiar to Prudence when she heard them, but since she couldn't place her finger on why exactly, she decided it must have been something she overheard at the party that she was reminded of. And mixed in with all this were a few attempts by Beth to kill off Sheridan and Mrs. Wallace. 

Prudence laughed to herself, "Writing a book." Beth wasn't kidding when she said she had a long night. Prudence wondered when these people found time to sleep. 

By the time she was all caught up to the present, Hank and Beth had arrived at the hospital and were just going in to see Antonio. 

Beth touched Luis on the arm, "Hank told me that Antonio came out of the coma." 

"Yeah," Luis smiled brightly. "The doctors say he's fully recovered." he gently pulled her aside and spoke to her quietly. "Isn't it great? Sheridan and I can finally tell him the truth about us." 

Beth swallowed and forced a smile to her lips. "Yeah, great." 

"Hank. Beth," Antonio greeted his latest visitors. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you guys." 

"You're really feeling better, Antonio?" Hank asked. 

"100% and I have all of you to thank for that," he said, taking Pilar's hand and wrapping his other arm around Sheridan. "When I was in that coma I knew you guys were here and I could hear how much you loved me and wanted me to get better. But especially Sheridan. I kept thinking about how much I loved my new bride and how much I wanted to get better so we could start a family and start the rest of our lives together. I would have given up if it wasn't for her love." 

"Don't say that," Sheridan said softly. 

"I know you don't want to think about me dying, but you don't have to worry anymore. I'm going to be fine. But I mean what I said. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have your love." 

Sheridan smiled weakly and sent a helpless look towards Luis as her husband hugged her closer to him. 

"Antonio, there's something we've got to tell you," Luis began, with a pained expression. 

"Can it wait a minute, Luis? There's something I have to say to someone. Do you guys mind waiting outside for a moment while I talk to Beth?" 

"Me?" Beth asked, surprised and slightly nervous, as the others in the room turned to look at her with equal confusion. 

"Yeah. It'll just take a minute." 

The others agreed to the request. Pilar and Sheridan each gave Antonio a hug while Miguel and Hank paused to pat him on the back on their way out of the hospital room. Antonio watched as they left and closed the door behind them. Once he was sure they were alone, he turned to Beth who stood across the room nervously wringing her hands. Cautiously, she stepped forward. 

"What is it, Antonio?" 

"Sit down," he said, motioning to the chair next to him. Beth reluctantly obeyed and waited for him to continue. "I'm going to get right to the point," Antonio said, staring directly at Beth as he spoke. "When I was in the coma I heard everything that was going on around me. I heard Mama, Luis, Sheridan, you . . ." 

Beth smiled weakly at him. His direct stare had made her slightly uneasy, but now as she recalled some of the things she might have let slip while Antonio was unconscious, she was really starting to squirm. Did he know that she was willing to kill the woman that he loved to keep from losing the love of her life? 

"I just wanted to let you know that I finally know all about what you and Luis and Sheridan have been keeping from me." 

"Oh?" Beth said lightly. She held her breath waiting for what might come next. "What do you mean, Antonio?" 

"Come on, Beth. You don't have to play dumb with me anymore. I mean, I'm not," he hesitated, trying to decide how to complete that thought. Blind? No, that wouldn't work. He had been blind for quite awhile. Brain dead? No, he'd been that too. Finally he decided on, "a complete idiot." 

"No one thought you were." 

"Well they sure acted like it. I guess I sort of knew all along, I just didn't want to believe that my brother and my fiancee were really in love with each other," he said, turning to stare down at the blankets in front of him and shaking his head. 

"So what are you going to do now?" Beth asked anxiously, interrupting his thoughts. Now that he knew the truth, Antonio's next move could affect her chances of winning Luis back, forever. 

Antonio turned back to Beth and stared at her, studying her for a moment. "Are you really in love with my brother? Do you really want to marry him?" 

Beth nodded eagerly. "Yes. More than anything." 

"And you'd do anything to be with him." He paused while she nodded. "I feel the same way about Sheridan." 

Beth smiled brightly with a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad to hear you say that. I was so worried that if you found out, you'd let Sheridan go and I'd never have Luis." 

"I might have if they would have told me up front, but now . . ." he trailed off as a dark expression crossed over his face. When he spoke again his tone was heated and bitter. "If they're not going to be straight with me, why should I be straight with them? Sheridan's my wife now, until death do us part." 

"But wait," Beth said, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Luis still wants to tell you the truth so he and Sheridan can be together. How are we going to keep them apart?" 

"We won't let them tell me. We'll keep doing what we have been. You be the supportive friend and I'll keep playing the victim. We'll make sure that whenever they try to come out with the truth, something will interrupt them," he explained calmly. He turned to sternly look Beth in the eyes as he added, "There's just one thing, I don't want you to try to hurt Sheridan." 

"I won't," she replied, laying a hand over her heart, before jumping up and hugging Antonio. "Thank you so much." 

As they were involved in their friendly embrace, the door gently crept open and Luis stuck his head inside. "Sorry to interrupt . . ." he stopped when he saw Beth pull away from her hug with Antonio. "What's going on in here?" he asked with a grin. 

Beth smiled nervously. "I'm just so glad that Antonio is finally better." 

  
  
_[Let's see . . .Next time, I think we'll catch up with the people that Prudence has _tried_ to help and see how they're doing . . .You know who that means. ;)]_


	5. Uncoupled

**CHAPTER 5 - UNCOUPLED**

"Yes. This is Mrs. Julian Crane and I wanted to make sure that this morning's flight to New York took off all right . . .Yes that's the one . . .There wouldn't be any reason that the plane might have to make an emergency landing or come back to Harmony, would there? . . .And you're sure that Gwen Hotchkiss was on that flight . . .Great. That's all I needed to know. Thank you very much."

A wide grin spread over Theresa's face as she hung up the phone. She lifted her hands to her chest and released a contented sigh. Gwen was officially on her way to New York and out of her life, not to mention out of Ethan's life. 

Ethan. Just the thought of his name made Theresa feel almost giddy. With Gwen out of the way, there was nothing stopping her from getting back with Ethan. She could just picture their promising future together.

Caught up in her daydreaming about a life with Ethan, Theresa didn't notice when someone else walked into the sitting room through the doorway behind her. When a pair of hands closed over her eyes she gave a little start, but as soon as she realized that she was in no danger, she relaxed.

"Guess who?" a husky voice called behind her. Theresa turned around with a bright smile on her face, but it quickly faded when she saw who the mystery man was.

"Oh, Fox. It's you."

"Gee, Theresa, you sound so happy to see me," he replied sarcastically.

"No, I am," she said, trying to pacify him. "I just thought you were . . ."

"Let me guess," he interrupted. "You thought I was Ethan."

"Yeah," she smiled softly.

"And I guess you're all dressed up for Ethan too," he added just barely covering up his resentment with a sarcastic tone.

"What, Fox? Were you hoping this was for you?" she teased.

He smirked, "I guy can hope."

"Well, as a matter of fact, I am waiting for Ethan," she said, moving away from the desk as she began to pace around the room with excited energy. "Gwen got on a plane this morning for New York. I made sure myself, so there's nothing standing between me and Ethan

"Are you sure about that?" Fox asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, as she stopped wandering around the room and stood alert.

Fox shrugged. "It's just that you and Ethan have a spotty history, you know and it sounds like most of the problems that you've had have been mostly your own fault."

"Whose side are you on, Fox?" she chided, but quickly moved on. "I know Ethan and I can get over any problems that we've had. I think he's already forgiven me. I just have to pull out all the stops and move in now, before something else happens."

"So what," Fox asked. "you're going to throw yourself at him?"

"No!" Theresa objected, but after a moment's thought she conceded that he was right. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Yeah," Fox replied smoothly, moving even closer to Theresa. "Throw yourself at me."

.

Ethan walked up to the front door of the mansion, slowly. The ride to the airport with Gwen had been silent. There hadn't been anything left for them to say to each other than goodbye. He had been sad to see her go and part of him wanted to ask her to change her mind and stay in Harmony, but common sense kept him quiet. He knew that going to New York was a great opportunity for Gwen, one that he couldn't hold her back from. Besides it would be better for all of them to have a break for awhile. Now his only concern was whether or not Theresa would stick to the agreement.

As he started to open the door, a car pulled up the drive behind him. He turned in time to see his friend Chad step out of the car. "Ethan, I'm glad I caught you," he said as he slammed the car door and walked towards the house.

"Chad," Ethan greeted him. "How's it going?"

Chad shook his head and frowned. "Terrible. I made the worst mistake of my life last night."

"What happened?" Ethan asked his tone becoming immediately concerned.

"Whitney caught me kissing Simone."

Ethan shook his head, disappointed in his best friend's actions. He was afraid this would happen, but now that it had, he didn't know what to say. He didn't need to say anything, his expression spoke for him.

"I know," Chad said, speaking with the same amount of gravity that Ethan's disapproving expression conveyed. "I messed up. It's just that," he paused, taking a few steps as he tried to come up with the words to explain. "Simone was right there, always clinging to me, wanting to be with me and Whitney could never make up her mind. Sometimes I wasn't sure if she would ever take that final step so we could finally really be together or not."

"So it's my fault that you cheated on me?" Whitney asked, as she walked up the drive towards the two young men. They turned towards her, both surprised to see that she was there. 

"That's not what I meant," Chad tried to defend himself.

"Well, that's what it sounded like," Whitney replied. She turned to Ethan, hoping he would back her up, but he opted to stay out of it.

"Why don't I leave you two alone to work this out?" Ethan said, edging towards the door.

"No, don't bother, Ethan," Whitney said, trying to muster up the slight amount of courage she had left. All of her energy was being used to keep herself from falling apart in front of Ethan and Chad on the Crane's doorstep. "There's nothing to work out. I don't have anything to say to Chad. I just stopped by to talk to Theresa." With her head lowered she walked towards the door.

"Whitney, wait," Chad called after her. "Won't you even hear me out?"

Whitney shook her head, keeping her back to her ex-lover. "Just stay away from me, Chad. And stay away from Simone too."

She reached for the door handle to go inside, but Chad's voice held her back.

"That won't be a problem. I'm leaving Harmony as soon as possible."

Whitney's hand froze on the doorknob, as Chad's words resonated through the air. For a moment she felt conflicted. The thought of never seeing Chad again paralyzed her, but the memory of seeing him with her sister kept her from turning back. Without a word, she opened the door and stepped through the threshold

Once safely inside, she closed the door firmly behind her and let herself fall back against it. Shaking, she started to cry.

.

"What?" Theresa asked, not sure that she had heard Fox correctly. He couldn't have just suggested what she thought he suggested. "You want me to throw myself at you?" she repeated, enunciating the end of the question with skepticism. When Fox grinned, she decided that she hadn't misunderstood. "Why?"

"Just think about it, Theresa. All this time you and Gwen have been chasing after my brother - my half-brother," he corrected, still not used to the change of status. "and he's known that if things weren't working out with one of you, the other one would be in the wings, ready to take her place."

"Fox-" Theresa started to object, but she was cut off.

"And how did it make you feel, Theresa, when you knew Gwen was there waiting to take your place with Ethan? Jealous enough to fight harder to win him back? How do you think Ethan would act if he saw you with another guy, especially one who's reportedly no good?"

Theresa thought about it for a minute before looking up at Fox with a devious smile. She opened her mouth to speak, but held her tongue as her glance darted from Fox to the doorway behind him.

Fox followed Theresa's glance, turning he saw Whitney was walk into the room. She hastily wiped at her eyes, trying to regain her composure before addressing her friend. 

"Theresa- Oh, hi Fox," she added as she noticed Theresa wasn't the only one in the room.

Fox threw his hands in the air in frustration. That was twice he'd been snubbed by two lovely ladies in one morning. What was the deal? Before he had the chance to protest, Theresa had noticed how upset Whitney looked and spoke up first.

"Whitney, what's wrong?" she asked moving towards her best friend and laying a supportive hand on the young woman's shoulder.

"Oh Theresa, it's awful," Whitney began as she let Theresa guide her to the couch. "Last night I caught Chad kissing Simone."

"Oh no," Theresa gasped. "There must be some kind of mistake," she said, struggling to find an explanation. "Maybe you misunderstood what you saw."

"Unless Chad 'tripped' and fell on Simone with his lips," Whitney said bitterly. "There was no mistake about what happened."

"Oh Whitney. I'm so sorry," Theresa said sympathetically. "But it doesn't make sense. You and Chad belong together."

"I thought so too, but I guess we were wrong."

"Oh don't give up Whitney. I didn't give up on Ethan and now I have a chance to win him back, with Fox's help," she added, flashing a grin at her new co-conspirator. "Maybe it's not too late for you and Chad to work this out."

"No, Theresa," Whitney shook her head. "Chad cheated and he lied and I just found out that he's leaving town as soon as he can. It's too late. Chad and I are through, for good."

.

"You're leaving Harmony?" Ethan repeated.

Chad nodded. "That's what I came by to tell you. I'm heading out to L.A. as soon as I can."

"For how long?" Ethan asked.

Chad shrugged. "I don't know. Indefinitely."

"So this is serious then?" Ethan said, at a loss for what to say.

"Yeah," Chad replied. "You know it really doesn't make any sense for me to stay in Harmony anymore. I only came here in the first place to find my parents. Then when that didn't go anywhere, I stayed because of Whitney."

"And you don't think Whitney will ever forgive you?"

"You saw her," Chad gestured towards the door. Then he sighed, "I hope she will, someday, but I don't think there's any chance that Coach Russell will. And I'm afraid the next time he and I come face to face, one of us is going to kill the other."

Ethan nodded solemnly. "I can see why you don't want to stick around."

"Besides, L.A. is a better place for my career. I appreciate you and Theresa letting me use the Crane recording studio, but there really aren't many opportunities for me out here . . .I am going to miss you guys though."

"I'll miss you too, Chad. Good luck."

"If you're ever out that way, come by and visit."

"I will."

"Oh, and Ethan," Chad had already started towards the car and Ethan towards the door, but he paused to give his friend one last bit of advice. "When you find the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, or decide which woman that is, don't let anyone else get in your way. Believe me, it's the worst thing you can do."

.

"Chad's leaving?" Theresa repeated. "Where is he going?"

Whitney shrugged. At the time, finding out where Chad was going was the last thing on her mind. And even if she had thought to ask, she wouldn't have had the strength to do it. She just wasn't ready to face him yet.

"Los Angeles," Ethan answered as he walked into the room and took a seat in an empty chair. "I just said goodbye to him." 

Ethan frowned as he thought over the morning's events. First Gwen had left and now Chad was leaving too. He'd had to say goodbye to two of his closest friends in a matter of a few hours and he was staring to feel their absence already. He knew that Harmony would be different without them around.

Theresa looked from Ethan to Whitney and back. She noticed how depressed they both looked and sincerely felt sorry for them, especially Whitney. At least Ethan would have her love to console him when he realized again that she was his one true love, but Whitney had just lost the man she belonged with and Theresa was convinced that once you lost that love, no other would do..

As Theresa stood up from her seat on the couch, she clapped her hands together and walked towards Fox. "Whitney, Ethan. I'll tell you what." She stopped next to Fox and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Fox and I were just making plans to go out today, just the two of us, but why don't you come with us . . .if that's all right with you, Fox."

"Fine with me," he replied draping his arm over Theresa's shoulders and gently pulling her closer.

Whitney and Ethan looked at the couple with obvious confusion, wondering when had Theresa and Fox gotten so close. Just last night Theresa had been hoping that Ethan would propose to her.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Ethan said hesitantly.

"And I'm not really in the mood," Whitney replied.

"Oh come on," Theresa said, trying to generate some enthusiasm. "I know you're both going through some difficult times, but it might be good to get your mind of things for a little bit."

"Don't pressure them, Theresa. If they don't want to go, then it will just have to be you and me," Fox said.

Watching his notoriously promiscuous half-brother grinning affectionately at his ex-girlfriend, Ethan felt compelled to speak up. "Theresa, can I have a word with you?"

"Of course, Ethan," Theresa replied sweetly as she pried herself away from Fox. She paused just long enough to flash her new partner a wide grin before following the love of her life into the next room.

Once Theresa and Ethan were out of the room, a confused looking Whitney turned to Fox and asked, "What's going on between you and Theresa?"

.

"What's going on between you and Fox?" Ethan asked Theresa, once they were alone.

"Well, Ethan, since you made it clear last night that you weren't going to ask me to marry you, I thought it would be best if I started to move on with my life."

"And you're planning to do that with Fox?" he asked, incredulously.

Theresa shrugged. "Why not?"

"Why not?" Ethan repeated in disbelief. "Listen Theresa, you're a sweet girl and I want to see you move on with a guy that deserves you, but believe me, that guy is not Fox. Fox . . .he doesn't take his relationships with women seriously . . .You two are just wrong for each other."

"I appreciate you concern, Ethan, but I happen to like Fox. He and I get along just fine."

"I'm not saying that I don't like Fox," Ethan objected. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"Fox isn't the one who hurt me," Theresa replied, the bravado drained from her voice. She turned away from Ethan for a moment, but when she spoke again her tone was calm again. "I know that you're trying to keep your distance from me and I understand why, Ethan. I really do. But would you be willing to spend time with me, and Fox, today . . .for Whitney? She could really use some friends to support her and I don't want her feeling like a third wheel."

Ethan glanced through the open doorway and looked in on a heartbroken Whitney. He couldn't help feeling pity and a slight tinge of guilt for what had happened to her.

"All right, I'll go. For Whitney," Ethan replied.

Theresa let out a squeal of delight and gave Ethan a grateful hug. "Thank you so much, Ethan."

.

"Me and Theresa?" Fox repeated, avoiding answering Whitney's question. "What do you mean?"

Whitney stared at him shrewdly. He knew exactly what she meant. He just wasn't going to admit it. She was about to call him on his evasiveness, but suddenly a comment that Theresa made earlier clicked into place. "Theresa said you were going to help her get Ethan back. Is that her plan? Using you to make Ethan jealous?"

Fox grinned at her with a shrug. But when he saw Theresa in the next room hugging Ethan, his expression sobered. "Yeah. That's it."

.

Once Theresa had collected little Ethan and dressed the baby for the New England winter weather, the group was ready to go. Although a light layer of dry snow covered the ground, the weather was unseasonably warm for mid-February. When Theresa suggested that they take a walk around the shops her companions complacently agreed.

Theresa moved eagerly from shop to shop peering in at the display windows, pointing things out to the others, including the baby in her arms. Fox walked along side Theresa going along with her enthusiasm, albeit in a more subdued manner. If he tried to be anything, it was attentive to Theresa, while carefully gauging Ethan's reaction and watching out for any possibility to get closer to Theresa and under his older half-brother's skin. Whitney and Ethan followed solemnly behind them, occasionally chipping in a few words when Theresa addressed them, but otherwise seeming disinterested in the outing, their minds elsewhere.

"Theresa, do you want me to take the baby for awhile?" Ethan asked, when Theresa shifted Little Ethan in her arms.

"Oh, thank you, Ethan," she smiled as she turned and passed the child to the elder Ethan. "I can't believe how big he's getting. He's going to be walking and talking before I know it."

As the group continued on, Fox took the opportunity to take Theresa's now empty arm in his own. Nonchalantly he glanced behind him just long enough to catch his older brother scowl. Smiling, he faced forward as they walked on.

When they turned the next corner, they came across a man standing next to a horse drawn carriage. The young couple standing next to him handed him some money before walking away arm in arm.

Theresa gasped, "Oh look, couple's carriage rides. How romantic! Doesn't that look romantic?"

"Then why don't I talk to the guy and see if I can arrange a ride?" Fox suggested.

"Oh that would be great," Theresa grinned, happily squeezing Fox's arm in her own. When she let him go, she turned to take her son from Ethan.

Ethan watched as Fox and Theresa hurried on ahead. Fox approached the driver of the carriage, no doubt planning to use the Crane money and influence along with his own personal charm to secure the group a place in the man's busy schedule. Meanwhile Theresa took little Ethan over to see the horses up close.

Ethan glanced over at Whitney standing beside him. She stood with her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest, a slight frown on her face as she stared blankly into space.

"I take it you aren't really into this outing either," Ethan asked her.

Whitney shook her head and looked over at Ethan as he caught her attention and drew her away from her private thoughts. "Oh. No, not really," she answered. "How could I be? I thought for sure, I'd be spending this Valentine's Day with Chad. And I thought that _maybe_ we could finally be honest with everyone about our relationship and even be happy. But now . . ." she shook her head and let her sentence end in a wistful sigh.

"I am sorry about what happened, Whitney," Ethan said in a slightly stiff yet sincere manner. "I can't justify or excuse Chad's actions. But I know that he really did love you, Whitney. If circumstances had been different-"

Whitney lifted up a hand to interrupt him. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, Ethan. But I really don't want to talk about Chad, right now." She paused as a queasy sensation rushed over her. She took a deep breath. "I think I need to sit down a minute."

Whitney walked past Ethan and flopped down on a nearby bench. Ethan took a seat next to her.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. It's just this whole thing with Chad has made me feel physically sick." She took a deep breath and then exhaled. "But I think I'll be all right . . .eventually. Don't worry."

.

The deal arranged and the carriage driver walking off to make preparations for the next trip, Fox was left standing alone. It hadn't been difficult convincing the driver to squeeze them into his tight schedule, especially when a generous tip was mentioned, but Fox felt a slight surge of pride in the successful transaction. He knew Theresa would appreciate his success and he was glad he wouldn't be letting her down.

Fox looked over and saw her standing next to the horses with Little Ethan. The dark-haired young woman lovingly rocked the fair-haired child in her arms as she jabbered away to him a happy, enthusiastic voice. 

Fox grinned at the pair with admiration. He truly envied his baby brother for having such a loving and attentive mother, like Theresa. When he saw them together he couldn't help wondering what kind of person he might have turned out to be if he had a mother who cared about him as much as Theresa cared for her son, or even if his own mother had shown him as much love as she had shown his older half-brother when they were growing up. Recently, his mother's excuse for favoring Ethan had been that Ethan had a different father than the rest of her children. Yet Fox shared the same father as the younger Ethan and he knew Theresa despised Julian as much as Ivy did, but Theresa never her son's paternity against him. 

Maybe it was guys named Ethan that were lucky. Or maybe Theresa was just a special woman.

Fox walked over to Theresa and gently laid a hand on her shoulder as he smiled at the child in her arms. Theresa turned to him with the same warm smile she had directed to Little Ethan just a moment before.

"Did you get it all set up?"

"No problem," he said with a confident grin. "I talked him into taking us next."

"That's great, Fox," she beamed. "Now we just have to figure out how to get Ethan to trade places with you."

"Yeah, that," Fox said, squinting antagonistically at Ethan who was sitting on a bench next to Whitney a few yards away. He smirked. Maybe there was just something about guys named Ethan.

"Come on, Fox," Theresa said encouragingly, as she shook his arm with her free hand. "We've got to stick to the plan and make Ethan jealous enough to realize that he and I belong together. It was your idea to begin with. So, let's see what you've got, Fox," she challenged.

"All right," he said giving in and smiled. "You asked for it."

He stepped closer to Theresa and wrapped one arm around her waist. Staring intently into her eyes, he ran the back of his hand gently down the side of her soft cheek. Theresa smiled back at him, only sending an instantaneous glance in Ethan's direction before looking back at Fox. Pretending to fall in love with him wouldn't be difficult at all. In fact she was starting to get caught up in the moment and let her eyes drift shut as he leaned closer towards her. He moved in closer as if he was about to kiss her, but then stopped abruptly as the baby cried and the moment was broken.

Fox stepped back and Theresa turned her focus on her son. As soon as his mommy's attention was back on him, he quieted down. "Looks like we made somebody jealous," she cooed at the baby.

"He's not the only one," Fox added. Theresa turned and saw the elder Ethan heading towards them.

Ethan grabbed Fox by the arm. It looked like a friendly gesture, but Fox could feel the pressure on his arm that suggested otherwise. "Fox, I need to talk to you for a second."

"Excuse us," Fox called over his shoulder as Ethan led him away. Theresa nodded and then smiled behind their backs.

"What do you think you're doing with Theresa?" Ethan demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Fox said innocently, his demeanor as cool and collected as ever. "I'm just getting to know my new step-mother better that's all."

"Oh yeah? That's not what it looks like, Fox," Ethan challenged. "I think you should stay away from Theresa."

"Oh you do?" Fox smirked. "Well, the last time I checked it wasn't up to you who I or Theresa choose to spend time with. No, I'm pretty sure you don't have any say at all in the matter."

"I'm warning you, Fox. Theresa is a sweet girl and she's very vulnerable right now. If you do anything to take advantage of that, I promise I will make you regret it."

"What's this all about, bro? Just last night you told Theresa you wanted nothing to do with her and now you're standing in the way of her trying to find happiness. If you want her back, why don't you say so, instead of bullying me."

"I-" Ethan started, but got no further. For a moment he thought about the situation and took a good hard look at himself. Was there any truth to what Fox was saying? Was he really being so unfair? "I- I just don't want to see Theresa get hurt any more than she already has been."

Fox clapped his older brother on the arm. "Don't worry. Hurting Theresa is your job, not mine."

.

While the guys were aside talking, Whitney walked over and joined Theresa and Little Ethan. Theresa watched the two men intently and grabbed Whitney's arm in excitement.

"Oh look, Whitney. It's working. See how jealous Ethan is after seeing me with Fox."

"Theresa," Whitney sighed discouragingly.

"Look, Whitney, I know you probably don't approve of what I'm doing. But once Ethan realizes how much he loves me and that we really do belong together, everything will work out all right. I know it's a little underhanded, but all he needs is a little push."

"Theresa," Whitney started again. "I think I'm going to go home."

Theresa turned her attention away from Ethan and Fox and towards Whitney.

"Why what's wrong?"

"I really appreciate that you invited me along and that you want to make me feel better, but I'm really not in the mood for it right now. It's too soon."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Whitney."

"It's all right. It's just that," she paused searching for an explanation. "everything reminds me of Chad. And just thinking about him makes me feel so horrible. Ever since last night, I've just felt awful, dizzy and nauseous. Practice this morning was a disaster. I really felt like I was going to be sick."

Theresa gave a sympathetic aw and rubbed Whitney's arm. "That sounds kind of like how I felt when-"

Theresa's sentence was cut short by the shrill ring of a cell phone. As Whitney answered the phone, Theresa was suddenly grateful for the interruption. It gave her a moment to realize that what she was about to say was something that Whitney didn't need to hear at the moment.

"Hello? . . .Why? What's wrong? . . .OK, I'll be right there."

"Is everything all right?" Theresa asked with concern after eavesdropping on one side of the brief phone conversation.

"I don't know," Whitney said taking a deep breath. Her entire body seemed to grow tense. "That was my mom. She wants me to come home right away, but she wouldn't say why." As she spoke her expression grew even more worried. She slowly raised her hand to her mouth and gasped, "Oh god. What if it's Simone? I knew she wouldn't take the news about me and Chad well. What if she's done something to hurt herself? It's all my fault."

"Now Whitney, just calm down," Theresa said. In one arm she balanced Little Ethan and with the other she tried to steady Whitney. "You don't know that. Maybe it's nothing."

"It didn't sound like nothing over the phone. Oh, I've got to get home!"

Whitney fumbled as she put the cell phone back into her purse.

"Do you want us to go with you?" Theresa offered.

"No, no, I'll be fine," Whitney said as she started to pull herself together.

"Call me later, ok?" Theresa said, giving her friend a hug.

"Sure," Whitney said, managing to draw some bravery and hide her frazzled nerves. She was still worried though. Hadn't enough happened to her within the last 24 hours? She was afraid to find out what was next.

  
  
_[I know, not a lot of action in this chapter, but it's kinda Therox-y, so I'm sure some of you won't mind. ;) Next time it's back to the usual fun and excitement as we find out why Whitney had to go home in such a hurry.]_


	6. The Secret Life of Eve

**CHAPTER 6 - THE SECRET LIFE OF EVE**

"Dr. Russell!" 

Eve stopped walking and turned around with a heavy sigh. It had been a hectic day at the hospital, with patient after patient to attend to, and very few of the cases had been simple. Adding to that stress the recent threats she'd been receiving from Ivy Crane and Liz, the result was one throbbing headache. She had hoped to retreat to her office during the brief lull of hospital activity and take an aspirin and a rest, but a nurse stopped her mere steps away from the office door. 

Eve reminded herself that she shouldn't take her stress out on the nurse before pleasantly replying, "Yes?" 

"What do you want us to do for the patient in 308?" the nurse replied and handed Dr. Russell the patient's chart. 

"Order a full blood count and hold off treatment until the lab comes back with the results." 

"Ok. Thanks." 

As soon as the nurse had left, Eve hurried into her office and securely closed the door behind her. She took a moment to take a relaxing breath and then started towards her desk. 

She sat down in the desk chair, bumping her elbows against the surface of the desk as she buried her head in her upturned palms. This was too much. Ivy blackmailing her, lies in exchange for silence. Liz threatening to tell everyone all the dark secrets of her past that she had tried to keep buried for so long. Then threatening to steal her family away, by seducing her husband and turning everyone against her and her time consuming job. What next? 

This situation with Liz was getting ridiculous. Her sister had said that her goal was to make Eve's life a living hell, and she was succeeding. She had shown that she would do anything in her power to ruin her older sister's life in retribution for the mistakes she made when she was a reckless, irresponsible child. 

Eve sighed, and slowly lifted her head. Her eyes wandered over to the family photograph resting on the corner of her desk. Her arm slowly reached for the frame and gently lifted it closer. She traced an index finger over the three other faces in the picture. Her loving husband. Her beautiful, sweet daughters. Her wonderful, perfect family. She had worked so hard to pull her life out of the gutters after reaching rock bottom. Her family and her career had been her reward for turning her life around, but now Liz was threatening to take it all away from her. 

"What can I do to stop her?" Eve asked the air. 

When the office phone rang, she turned to it quickly, half wondering if it could be the answer to her question. Eve carefully set down the picture frame and reached for the receiver. 

"Dr. Russell," she answered, trying to cover her sentiment with a crisp professional tone. After a pause she added, "Let me check." 

Balancing the receiver between her ear and shoulder she began shuffling through the papers on her desk, sifting through piles and brushing aside loose sheets on the top. 

"I don't see it here," she responded. "Have you asked at the nurses' station?" When the answer on the other line was negative she closed the conversation. "Ask there and if you still can't find it, let me know." 

She hung up the receiver, no closer to a solution to her problems and no farther away from the dull pain still throbbing in her head. She bent over and reached for the purse she left lying on the floor next to her desk. Hoisting it to her lap she fished in side for a bottle of aspirin. After washing two down with a cup of water left on her desk, she set the purse back down on the floor. 

She was about to lean back and try to rest for a moment, when she noticed a stray scrap of paper that had fallen to the floor. When she picked it up and took a closer look, she noticed that it was a business card. 

PRUDENCE BREWER   
- Advice columnist -   
"a specialist in the field of advice" 

She scoffed when she saw what it was. Oh that silly thing. She tossed the card onto her desk. No one took that strange young woman at the party seriously. 

She leaned back in the desk chair, closed her eyes and rested one hand over her forehead. Maybe she just needed to get her mind off of her problems, just for a minute or two. Then, when this headache was gone and her mind felt clearer, she could come up with a plan to stop Liz from destroying her life. 

After only a minute she gave up, unable to stop thinking about all the things in her life that were going wrong or that could go wrong. She leaned forward and rested her arms on the desk. There would be no rest, no peace, until she stopped Liz from ruining her life. And she feared there was only one way to do it. She had to do the thing that she most dreaded. But how could she tell her family the whole truth about her past? How could she admit to everyone that her life, as they knew it, was nothing, but a lie? 

As she stared blankly at the desk in front of her, her eyes were drawn again to the business card. Even though to her the thought of writing to an advice columnist for help was ridiculous, the inexplicable temptation to write a letter to this woman was growing stronger. 

Finally she reached for a blank piece of paper and a pen and gave in. The only rationale she could give was that writing about her problems, even if just to herself, could be therapeutic. 

_Dear Prudence,   
I've never even considered writing to an advice columnist before, but I am in serious need of help and I don't know where else to turn. I feel like my entire life is falling to pieces around me and there's nothing I can do to stop it from happening. _

My problem stretches years back. When I was young I made a lot of foolish mistakes. I got involved with bad activities and a bad crowd that led me down the wrong path. I spent all of my time in night clubs, getting addicted to alcohol and drugs and having sex with strange men. I was so out of it that I didn't know what was going on around me. When my sister came to me for help with a family problem, I was too drugged up to realize that she needed me and I brushed her aside. 

The turning point in my life came when I got pregnant. The father was a man that I was deeply in love with, but, because his family didn't approve of our relationship, he abandoned me and our unborn child. After giving birth I was told that the child had died. I wasn't surprised considering the wild life I had been living. I knew right then that I had to clean up my act. 

With years of hard work and perseverance I tackled my addictions and I have been free of drugs, alcohol, and the party lifestyle for over 20 years. Since then I have graduated from college and medical school, married a wonderful, decent man, raised two lovely daughters, and developed a successful, respectable career in our community. My wild days are over. I've tried to put them behind me and pretend they never really happened to me. I've kept my past a secret, even from my husband. 

But recently I discovered that I can't run from my past forever. A few people have discovered my secrets and have been using them against me. The worst threats of all have come from my very own sister who has threatened to tell everyone about my sordid past and steal my life and my family away from me. 

The only thing I know to do is to come clean with everyone and tell them the entire truth about my past. I have tried a few times, but I've never been able to go through with it. Something always happens to interrupt me, an emergency, a phone call (I am often on call for my job), or some other interruption. More often than not I'm simply overcome with fear about what will happen after I tell the truth. Will my family hate me? Will my daughters see how hypocritical I've been and follow in the footsteps of my youth? I've always tried to be a good role model to them, but once I tell them the truth, will they disregard all of the good things I tried to teach them growing up? 

I want this all to end, the threats, the fear, the secrecy. And now that I believe the child that I gave birth to all those years ago may still be alive, I know that if I find him, the truth will have to come out. 

I feel that I'm simply at a loss. What should I do? 

Sincerely,   
In Need of a Second Opinion 

Eve had just finished writing the letter, when someone knocked on the door. Hastily, she folded the paper in half and held it hidden over the desk. 

"Yes, come in," she replied. 

The intern who stuck her head in the doorway said, "Dr. Russell, you're needed in the emergency room. We need you to look at a patient that just came in." 

"I'll be right there," she replied, raising from her seat. She was about to drop the letter in the waste paper basket, but decided against it. What if Liz or Ivy or someone came in, looked through her garbage, and showed the letter to T.C.? She knew the thought sounded paranoid, but then again, she couldn't be too careful. As she walked out into the hallway outside her office, she ripped the paper into shreds and dropped it into a public trash bin just outside a waiting room, as she was on her way to check on her next patient. 

. 

Prudence, still sitting at her table at the Book Cafe, had long since finished her coffee and muffin and was now fiddling with her laptop. At the moment she was running a search on Harmony, its local attractions and its history. She hadn't found much, when an e-mail alert appeared on the screen. Abandoning her research for the moment, she clicked on the option to check the mail. She read the newest message with wide eyed interest. Now this was juicy stuff! 

After a moment of contemplation, she stretched her arms in front of her, fingers entwined, before started to type a reply. 

_Dear In Need,   
You have a truly amazing story. When I read your letter I see an inspiring story of personal triumph. Many people who made the same mistakes as you haven't had such a successful, happy ending as you have. You should be proud of yourself. _

With that said, I can also understand why you would want to keep your past a secret. It's not the kind of thing you would want everyone to know about and it would definitely influence the way people look at you. 

From the tone of the letter, I think you already know what you need to do, tell the truth about your past. Since I believe you've already decided that's what you need to do, I'm going to give you a few suggestions about how to do it. 

First of all you need to gather your family (or whoever you want to tell) together someplace private, where you won't encounter any outside distractions. Lock all the doors. Turn off or unplug all the phones. Make sure no one has anywhere else they have to be anytime soon. If you have to, take a leave of absence from work. Surely you must get some time off, vacations, personal days, sick days? If you do, take them. If you think there's someone who might try to break in and stop you from telling the truth, find someone you can trust to stand guard, if possible. 

Now that you've got your family together and all other distractions, tell your story. Say what you have to say and don't let anyone or anything stop you until you've finished (including yourself). 

I can't promise that everything will go smoothly or that your family will take the news well. But I'm sure this will be a huge burden off your shoulders. 

I wouldn't worry too much about your daughters abandoning the things that you've taught them or disregarding the shining example you've shown them throughout their lives. I think you can even be a stronger role model to them after they know the truth. You know first hand the destructive lifestyle that drugs and alcohol can lead to and you've shown them the life that someone can build without these things infecting their lives. 

Best of luck. I'm pulling for you! 

Love,   
Prudence 

Prudence briskly tapped the send key and leaned back with a contented smile. 

. 

Eve stopped by the nurses' station. "Would you get me the chart for 342?" she requested. As she waited for the nurse to find the file, she took a moment to relax. She hadn't had a moment to herself since her retreat to her office, when she wrote that letter. She still thought it had been a silly thing to do and she was glad that she had thrown the note away, but in away she felt like it did help her a little bit to ease the strain her bottled up emotions were placing on her life. 

"You look exhausted, Dr. Russell," a voice called out. Eve looked over to see the doctor who was scheduled to relieve her and take the next shift. "Has it been busy around here?' 

"A mad house," the nurse answered as she handed Eve the chart and moved on to her next task. 

"Well, it's almost all over for you," the other doctor said as he made a note on a pad of paper. 

"What?" Eve asked, startled. For a moment his statement reminded her of Liz's menacing threats. _It's all over for you._ "What do you mean?" 

"You're off duty in a few minutes, aren't you?" the doctor asked, glancing at Eve, confused at her suddenly defensive tone. 

"Oh, yes, of course," Eve sighed. 

"None too soon, I can tell. Relax. Before you know it, you can head out of here and put these problems behind you for a few hours at least." 

"Right," Eve agreed, albeit half-heartedly. If only she could put all of her problems behind her. At least at the hospital she was faced with problems she knew how to diagnose and treat. She couldn't cure everyone, but at least she knew what she could and couldn't do to help her patients. If only her own life were so easy to treat. If only she could cut Liz out of her life like a tumor or a rotten appendix. 

Suddenly a thought came into her mind, like a flash of inspiration. Maybe she could solve her problems and but her demons to rest for good. "Right," she said, again, more spirited this time. She picked up the phone at the nurses' station and called the scheduling office. "This is Dr. Russell. I need to schedule some time off . . .I'm taking a vacation." 

. 

Whitney hurried home as quickly as she could. By the time she reached the front door, she was a nervous wreck from imagining all the possible reasons for her mother's urgent phone call. When she opened the door and found Simone and her father calmly sitting in the living room, her worries began to fade. 

"I just got a call from Mom. What's going on?" Whitney asked as she walked into the room and took a seat in an empty chair. 

"I don't know, sweetie," T.C. answered. "Your mom called me too. She asked me to make sure the three of us were here and Liz was out of the house when she got home from the hospital." 

Simone stubbornly crossed her arms in front of her and glared angrily at Whitney. "You didn't tell me _she_ would be here." 

"Of course, Whitney's here. Your mother wanted to talk to the whole family about something." 

With a sharp jerk of her upper body, Simone jumped up from her seat on the couch. "Well, I'm not going to stay here if she's here," she nodded towards Whitney. "It's bad enough that I have to put up with living under the same roof with this back stabbing traitor of a sister, but I'm sure not going to be in the same room with her when I don't have to be. I'll be upstairs," she said as she started out of the room. 

Whitney turned around in her chair, lifting her arm as if she were trying to reach out to her sister. "Simone," she sighed. "Please, don't be like that. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. That's why I didn't tell you." 

Simone turned quickly in place. "Oh please. You're so used to getting everything that you want that you couldn't stand to let me have a little bit of happiness of my own! You never cared about how I felt! You just wanted to get your greedy little hands on Chad and you didn't care how you had to do it," she spat out the last sentence, her face painted with hurt and disgust. 

T.C. raised from his seat across the room, his blood pressure rising with the rage he felt. "Chad!" he said the name as if it were a profanity. "I don't ever want to hear that name in this house again, do you understand? And if I _ever_ see that gutter trash street punk around here or around either of you, I swear I'm going to kill him." 

"Daddy, no!" Simone objected. She couldn't believe how things were going. Her parents were just beginning to accept Chad and they were actually going to let her date the man of her dreams, but that was all ruined now. All because of Whitney. She turned from her hot-tempered father to her pathetic, slutty sister, who was currently slouched down on the couch, and hissed, "I hate you, Whitney. This is all your fault," before storming out of the room. 

. 

Eve sat parked in the driveway. She had spent the drive home trying to decide how to tell her family the horrible truth about her past. She sent up silent prayers asking God for the courage to take this final step. 

She was startled out of her thoughts by a knock on the window. Suddenly she realized that she remembered nothing from the drive home, and didn't know how long she'd been sitting here in the driveway in front of her own house. She turned to the window and identified the man standing outside before reaching for the door handle. 

"Sorry to startle you," he apologized. 

"It's all right," she said, climbing out of the car. Once she had made the final decision to go through with this she made four phone calls. The first was to arrange some vacation time to deal with the aftermath of her announcement. The second was to T.C. to make sure that he and the girls were home and that Liz was out of the house. Her younger sister was the last person she wanted here to mess things up. The third call had been to Whitney after T.C. said she was out with Theresa. And the last had been to this man. "I'm glad you came, David." 

She knew enlisting the help of David Hastings was risky. The photographer had been working for Ivy Crane, the woman who was blackmailing her and who was also blackmailing him. But that day she had talked with him at the Book Cafe had brought them closer. They both were in the same position. They had dark secrets that held them prisoner. They both wanted to come clean and do the right thing, but were afraid of what the consequences might be. But he had been so supportive of her that day when she was so close to telling T.C. the entire truth and she needed someone impartial to support her now. 

"I'm willing to help you anyway I can, Eve. At least one of us will be free of Ivy Crane's demands." 

"Thank you," Eve said, her deep-felt sincerity and gratitude evident in her voice and way she touched his arm. "But I hope someday soon you'll be able to break out of her grasp soon." 

With a sigh, David shook his head sadly. "I wish it was possible, but I'm afraid it's not. You have a chance to be honest with your family and make them understand the actions you chose, but I can't do that. If the truth about the things that I've done ever got out, I would lose my son for sure." 

"Don't you think John would forgive you?" Eve asked her tone incredulous, yet sympathetic. 

"No, I don't think he could." 

For a moment the pair was silent. David's pessimism, sunk into Eve's mind and adding to her insecurity and sense of doubt. David sensed this and was quick to erase the damage that had been done. 

"But you and I are different people with different circumstances. I'm sure things will work out for you in the end." 

"I hope so." 

"So what do you need me to do?" 

"Oh," Eve said, shifting from their topic of conversation to her recently formulated pan. "I just need you to watch the house and make sure no one tries to come in and stop me from telling my family the truth, especially Liz." 

"That's it?" he asked. She nodded. "No problem." 

Eve steadied herself as she walked towards the front door, with every step closer to her family waiting in the living room, her anxiety grew. She fought to control her fears as she entered the front door. 

When she walked inside she was startled to find the house already in chaos. T.C. stood in the living room, enraged, as a sad looking Whitney sat slumped down in a chair, and an emotionally wounded Simone charged towards the stairs. Already tensions were running high and she hadn't even said hello yet. 

"Simone, could you stay down here please. I need to talk to you," Eve said, steadying her voice as she locked the front door behind her. 

Simone stood on the first step and whipped around to face her mother. "I'm not going in there if Whitney's going to be there. I can't stand to be in the same room as that-" 

"Simone, please. Just go." Eve said firmly, her tone and expression tired. "This has nothing to do with you and Whitney. I have something important I need to tell all of you." 

"Fine," Simone gave in. "But if she starts up with those filthy lies of hers," she said loudly enough for her sister to hear. "I'm not sticking around to listen." 

Eve followed her daughter into the living room, trying to overlook the fact that Simone was making a show of sitting as far away from Whitney as possible. She turned her eyes to her husband, who stood tensely in the center of the room, ready to jump to the defense of his family as soon as the occasion arose. 

"What's this all about, Eve?" T.C. asked, still on the defensive. "If this has anything to do with that punk Chad Harris-" 

"No," Eve interrupted. She acted as if she were going to elaborate, but instead asked, "Is the back door locked?" 

"No," T.C. replied, confused by the odd inquiry. 

"I'll be right back," she said, disappearing into the kitchen for a moment before returning When she came back to the living room, she paused by the phone and moved the receiver off the hook. Then she reached into her handbag, removed her cell phone and turned it off, before dropping it on the coffee table. 

"If you have your cell phones with you turn them off," she said to the others. "I have something very important to say, something I know I should have told you all a long time ago and I can't take any more interruptions." She waited while Whitney removed the phone from her purse and turned it off. 

"Eve," T.C. said tentatively. He had no idea what this was all about and it was starting to make him worry. 

Eve motioned for him to be quiet and sit down. "Let me speak. Let me finish completely before anyone says anything." She paced around the room, trying to gather her thoughts and decide how to start. When it came to her, she stopped pacing and stood in front of her family, prepared to tell the story of her past. 

"Do you remember, T.C., when I was telling you about Liz's sister?" 

"Of course I do," he nodded. "You said she was a patient of yours, but you never told us who she was." 

"That's partially true. I didn't get a chance to tell you who she was, but she isn't a patient of mine." 

T.C. looked confused. "But didn't you say she was? Why would you lie about that, Eve?" 

For a moment she started to weaken. Already she was being called a liar, and her husband didn't even know the half of it yet. "I'll explain that in a minute," she put her husband's question off and turned to her daughters. "You two haven't heard the story of Liz's story, have you?" 

"Just that she was a wicked woman who betrayed her only sister," Simone replied, arms crossed with a pointed sideways glance towards Whitney. 

"Well, that's because you've only heard one side of the story," Eve explained. 

Then she went on to tell her story, in third person, as the story of a young woman who wanted to become a singer, despite her mother's disapproval. She left her home and her family to sing in sleazy nightclubs. There she was pressured into a lifestyle filled with drugs, alcohol, and sex, despite her better judgment. She got involved with a man, who she thought she was in love with, and got pregnant by him. Then he abandoned her, her baby was taken away, and she was left alone, disoriented, and strung out. 

"Oh, that's so horrible," Whitney sympathized. "Now I see why you were so against music and singing." 

"Yes, Whitney," Eve said. "But this story has a happy ending. Liz's sister was able to turn her life around. She managed to get off the drugs and alcohol by staying away from the jazz clubs and her old crowds. It took a lot of work for her to clean herself up, but she managed to do it. She went to college, earned her degrees, and got a good job. She married a decent, honest, hard working man and had a family. She completely turned her life around." 

"That's great for her and all," T.C. began reluctantly. "But why do you keep telling me about this woman and her story? Why is it so important to you?" 

"There's a very good reason for that," Eve said slowly. She took a deep breath. This was it. Her family was going to know everything. She looked at them one by one. They all watched her expectantly, waiting for her to finish what she needed to say. Then she realized this may be the last time they would ever look at her without disgust and hatred. She braced herself for the consequences and the heartbreak. "It's just that I kept this a secret for a long time and it's tearing me up inside. You are my family and I love the three of you more than anything else in the world. I wanted to forget this whole sordid story and bury it in the past where it belonged, but Liz won't let it alone. I think it's time you all knew the entire truth. I-" 

Before Eve could speak another word, the front door burst open and Liz stormed into the living room. She breathed heavily and her eyes were wild as they darted around the room. 

"Liz, are you all right?" T.C. asked. 

Liz looked from T.C. to the girls, to Eve standing in front of the room. Her nieces and her brother-in-law seemed too calm and Eve too nervous. She must have gotten there in time. The bomb hadn't been dropped yet. 

Liz tried to calm herself and smiled brightly at T.C. She tried to keep her tone light and neutral as she spoke. "Oh, I'm fine. What's going on here? I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" 

"Mom was just telling us about your sister," Simone said. 

"Oh, well I guess I'm just in time," Liz said as she moved to take a seat on the couch. 

"Liz, I think you should leave," Eve said sternly. "This is a private family matter." 

"Why can't Liz be here?" T.C. asked. "It is her sister we're talking about. She should know her own sister better than any of us." 

"Yes, Eve. Why can't I stay?" Liz grinned. "I'm sure I can add some insight to the discussion. I'm sure after hearing so much about my sister from you, your family would be interested in hearing what I know about her." 

"No," Eve replied firmly as David stumbled into the room, clutching the side of his bleeding forehead. 

"I'm sorry, Eve. I tried to keep her away from the door, but she attacked me." 

"It's all right, David. I'm almost done here," Eve said with a pointed look at Liz. 

"You had David guarding the door?" T.C. asked in disbelief as he stood from his seat. "What's going on here, Eve?" 

"I'm trying to tell you. The truth is, I'm-" 

"Eve! We need your help!" 

The Russells turned to see Sam and Grace Bennett standing in the entrance way to the living room. 

"Kay's lost out in the snow. She's pregnant and we're afraid she might be hurt," Sam spoke quickly in one breath. His wife stood behind him anxiously, until she noticed her supposed first husband tending to his recent injury. 

"David, what happened?" she asked with concern, oblivious to Sam's jealous glare. 

Eve quickly interrupted before the commotion in the doorway completely ruined her confession. "I'm sorry, but this isn't a good time," she said as diplomatically as possible. "I'll be glad to check on Kay in a minute but first I-" 

"Dr. Russell!" 

Eve was cut off as half of Harmony poured in through her front door. Theresa was next carrying her son in her arms as Ethan and Fox trailed after her. Antonio and Luis were close behind them, supporting Sheridan between them, with Hank bringing up the rear. 

"I think Little Ethan has a fever," Theresa cried out in a panic. 

"Sheridan fainted," Luis and Antonio spoke at once. 

"There's been a gas explosion. They need you at the hospital, Dr. Russell, but couldn't get a hold of you," Hank announced. 

Suddenly everyone was talking at once. Eve's family had joined the group, sharing their concerns, offering to do what they could to help. Eve watched helplessly. It was happening again. She was just about to tell the whole truth and finally get this secret out of the open, the burden off her chest, and her sister of her back, but everything was going wrong. She was losing her family's attention and the opportunity was slipping through her fingers. 

"No," she said softly, her voice drowned out by the commotion around her. 

Liz, grinning, had moved next to her older sister. "Looks like you won't be telling your family the truth after all," she hissed. "I guess your dirty little secrets will just have to stay between us, for now." 

"No!" Eve shouted, getting the attention of the others in the room. They all turned to look at her and she looked back at them, scanning the crowd until her gaze fell on her husband. "There's something I have to say. I have to tell you something very important. It can't wait any longer." 

"What is it, Eve?" T.C. asked. 

"I'm-" she started, but paused as the ground beneath her began to shake. The others gasped, cried out, and reached out for anything to steady themselves. There was a loud explosion followed by water running down the stairs and flames bursting through the kitchen door. The room was in a state of panic as everyone tried to figure out what was going on and what they should do. 

Eve's mind was racing. Why was all of this happening? Was the universe out to stop her from revealing the truth about her past? This was too much. She just couldn't stand it a moment longer. 

"I'M LIZ'S SISTER!" she screamed out. 

Suddenly the room was still. The ground stopped shaking, the waterfall reduced to a trickle, and the flames seemed to recede. Everyone stood in a hushed silence, almost afraid to even breathe. Eve's friends and neighbors stared at her in shock for a moment, but she didn't notice. Their eyes followed hers to her husband, waiting to see how T.C. would react. With his hot temper he was liable to do anything. 

T.C. stood silently staring at his wife. His expression seemed mostly confused as he tried to comprehend this information. 

Sam was the first to speak up. "Listen, Eve. We'll work out these problems ourselves. Don't worry about it." 

"And I'll see about the water problem upstairs," David volunteered. 

Hank went with David while Ethan and Fox offered to put out the fire in the kitchen. Silently the group filtered out of the house until only the Russells and Liz were left standing in the living room. 

"Did you hear what I said?" Eve asked her husband quietly when no one said anything. "I'm Liz's sister." 

"I heard you," T.C. said coolly as he paced across the room. When he stopped he shook his head and looked from his nervous wife to a stunned, silent Liz and then back. "Why didn't I see it before? It makes perfect sense. I mean, that would explain why you know so much about the story you were telling us." 

Eve nodded solemnly and braced herself for what he might say next. 

"Why didn't you tell me, Eve?" T.C. asked, sounding hurt. "Why did you keep this a secret from me?" 

"Oh, I was so ashamed . . ." Eve hung her head. She was about to go on, but T.C. walked towards her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Liz grew wide eyed with fury. The truth had come out and Eve's family hadn't turned against her like they were supposed to. T.C. and Eve seemed as close as over. 

"I understand why you would be ashamed. To have a woman who was as awful as her for a sister. Of course, you wouldn't want to admit it. Who would want to be related to a woman like the one you told us about?" 

"What are you talking about?" Eve asked, looking up at her husband with confusion. "T.C., I don't think you understand what I'm trying to tell you." 

"No . . ." said T.C. after taking a second to rethink his reasoning and deciding that it was sound. "If you and Liz are sisters, that evil woman you were telling us about would be your sister too." 

"No, T.C!" Eve cried out in frustration. "I'm the woman from the story. I'm the one who abandoned her family, used drugs and alcohol, and slept with lots of men." 

"Don't forget," Liz chipped in. "You're also the one who let our father rape me and who broke our mother's heart." 

"I never meant for those things to happen," Eve said softly. As she looked at Liz, she tried to see her as the girl she had grown up with, the little sister that she protected, and who had once been her closest friend. But she was confronted with a devious woman whose heart was so filled with bitterness and hate that it could be seen clearly on her face. 

Seeing how much Liz had changed, broke Eve's heart. The sister she had once loved was dead to her and now her greatest concern was that she would lose her daughters and her husband in the same way. Eve turned to Whitney and Simone, expecting to see the same loathing in their expressions, but found only stunned disbelief. Her vision scanned past them and her eyes fell on her husband, T.C. All of the muscles in his face were pulled taught. Under his furrowed brows his dark eyes burned, unable to conceal the emotions brewing underneath. 

"T.C.?" Eve's voice was quiet and hesitant. 

"I don't believe this," he finally spoke. "You've been lying to me during our entire marriage. What else have you been keeping from me?" 

Eve hung her head in shame. "Nothing. I've told you everything," she promised. 

"How could you keep this from me, Eve? All of these horrible secrets, for so many years." He stared at her coldly, picturing the honest, respectable wife, who he had loved for over 20 years, and the horrible drug addicted whore from the stories about Liz's sister. He tried to combine those two images and equate them with the sad looking woman standing in front of him, but he couldn't do it. The effort just left him feeling disgusted. "I don't even know who you are." 

"I'm still me. Nothing's changed, T.C.," she pleaded, reaching out for her husband, but he pulled away from her touch. 

"No, Eve," he shook his head. He looked as if he were about to say something else, but instead opted for a hasty retreat. "I've got to think about this." 

As T.C. left the room, Eve slumped down on the chair, all of her strength gone from her body. At least it was over with, she thought. 

"I can't believe this!" Simone exclaimed. Her father's departure seemed to snap the youngest member of the Russell family out of her shock. "You really did all those things when you were young, Mom?" 

"Yes Simone," Eve replied, her voice tired. "I wish I hadn't. Those things that I did could have ruined my life. But it's true." 

"Oh my God," Simone shook her head. As she turned her head her gaze focused on Whitney. "At least we know where you got your slutty nature from," she snapped at her older sister, before leaving the room. 

Whitney turned slowly and watched Simone walk away. She wanted to call out to her, to do something to make things better between them, but she knew it was hopeless. When she turned around again, Liz had slipped out of the room through the kitchen and Whitney was left alone with her mother. 

Eve felt Whitney's glance fall on her and she looked up just in time to catch her oldest daughter's eyes before she could turn away. "I suppose you despise me now," she said weakly. 

"No," Whitney said softly, shaking her head. "It's just so hard to believe. That woman in the story sounds nothing like you, at all. I mean, you've always been against drinking and drugs and singing." 

"Not always. I had to learn the hard way what kind of life those things can lead to and I never wanted you girls to go through what I've been through." Eve paused and took a breath, momentarily overcome by bad memories. "I lost everything, my family, my sister, my little baby boy. I- I can't stand the thought of that happening all over again," Eve leaned forward and reached for Whitney's hand. "Promise me, Whitney, that you won't make the same mistakes that I did when I was young." 

Whitney hesitated, overwhelmed by this turn of events and all the new information that she was still trying to take in. All these years she hadn't known her mother at all, not really. But when she looked into her mother's pleading face, she knew that didn't matter. It didn't change anything between them. 

"I promise," she said quietly, clasping her mother's hand in her own, but even as the words left her mouth she feared that it was an oath that was already broken. 

. 

In the back yard, T.C. slammed his fist against the outside wall of his shed. He grunted as his hand connected with the metal siding, but was oblivious to the pain in his throbbing knuckles. When the physical act of violence did nothing to ease his frustration, T.C. began pacing around the yard shaking his head. As his blood pressure began to rise he muttered over and over to himself, "No, not Eve." Deep down he knew he must have been mistaken, he must have misunderstood, or there must be some other explanation, but so far he was at a loss as to what that might be. 

When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he instinctively turned and raised his fist. He managed to catch himself and pull his arm back just inches before it collided with Liz's cheek. Stunned by his own reaction he quickly apologized. 

Liz stood wide-eyed, her breath caught in her throat, more excited by T.C.'s rage than frightened. As she relaxed a smile crept across her face. "Oh, don't worry about it T.C. I'm sure you must be under a lot of stress finding out what kind of woman you've been married to all these years." 

"Stress doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now," T.C. replied. "I can't believe it. That awful, vile person can't be the same woman I've been married to all these years. I thought I knew Eve, she was so perfect. She couldn't have been hiding this from me all these years." 

Liz grabbed T.C. by the shoulders and stared directly into his face as she spoke. "She could and she did, T.C. Don't let her phony act fool you. I know for a fact that she did all of those filthy disgusting things and probably more. I saw it with my own eyes all those years ago and it broke my heart. She was my sister and she could have saved me, but she didn't, she just turned her back on me." Liz stepped back from T.C. as the hatred that burned in her eyes was glossed over with carefully played concerned. "I'm just so sorry for you and the girls, T.C. I'm so sorry that she lied to and manipulated you for all these years. I wish there had been something I could have done to stop her from hurting a good man like you the same way that she hurt me." 

T.C. nodded solemnly, "Thank you, Liz. I appreciate-" he stopped short and stared at Liz with focused concentration. 

"What is it?" Liz asked coyly, somewhat wary at his sudden change of expression. 

"Wait a minute, you knew the whole time that Eve was your sister. You had to know. And you never said anything." 

"But-" 

"And this whole time you've been going on about your sister in front of all of us, when it was Eve the entire time. Why would you do that, Liz?" 

"I-" 

"Never mind, I don't want to know. You know, Liz, I think it's time you found a new place to live." 

Liz stood staring in disbelief as T.C. pushed past her and went back into the house. 

. 

"So I might have an older brother?" Whitney asked Eve, still trying to process all she had learned in the last fifteen minutes. 

"Yes. And if he's still out there somewhere I want to find him." 

"Of course," Whitney replied supportively, although she really wasn't sure how she felt about all of this yet. 

"I never realized how unhappy I was in the life I was living back then, until I held that little baby boy for the first time. It's the best feeling in the world to hold your own child in your arms. I wanted to start over for his sake. I didn't want my child to be around drugs or night clubs. I wanted the kind of life for him that I was able to give to you and Simone. Then when he was taken away from me . . .I was just . . .crushed." 

As her mother reminisced about her past, something she said stuck in Whitney's mind. There was just something so familiar about the story of a nightclub singer and her long lost child. When the realization became clearer it struck Whitney so hard that she felt paralyzed. She drew in a quick gasp of air. 

"Whitney, what is it?" Eve turned to her daughter with concern. 

"Mom," Whitney said weakly, afraid of what she was about to say. "Chad, couldn't be your son could he?" 

"No, no," Eve shook her head quickly, but when Whitney looked at her face she was met with doubt. "I've thought of that possibility before, but I really don't think he is." 

Whitney breathed a sigh of relief, although she wasn't completely cleared of doubt. "Oh God, I hope not. That is the last news I need today." 

"Right," Eve nodded. "But maybe a DNA test wouldn't hurt. Just to prove that he isn't my son and put this whole thing to rest," Eve raised from her seat. "Why don't I call Chad right now." 

At that moment Simone was storming down the stairs, ready with a new bitter remark for her sister. But when she heard Chad's name mentioned she paused in the doorway to eavesdrop. 

"We can't," Whitney replied. "Chad's gone. He left for L.A. this morning. He's probably still on the plane." 

"Well, then we'll try to get in touch with him there and get this all worked out." 

"Good," Whitney replied, before she could continue she was interrupted by a wave of nausea and by her father entering the room. 

"Whitney, can I talk to your mother alone?" 

"Sure," she replied, leaving the room and Simone made a hasty retreat before Whitney could catch her eavesdropping. 

Eve stood tensely, expectantly watching her husband who stood, an imposing figure in the doorway, and waiting for what he had to say. Her future, their future together all depended him now. 

"Eve," he said as he slowly walked towards her. "Why did you lie to me all this time?" 

Eve took a deep breath and then sighed before continuing. "I just, I was so ashamed of my past. I hated all of the things I had done and I hated myself. I just wanted to start over fresh and get my life back on track and forget that that horrible part of my life ever happened. I was just so young and so stupid. I didn't think anyone had to find out." 

"You could have told me, Eve." 

"I know. I should have. I wanted to, but I was afraid of how you would take the news. I was afraid you wouldn't love me if you knew what kind of person I had been." 

"How could you think that?" T.C. said moving closer to Eve. "I will always love you, no matter what." 

"Oh T.C. I love you too," Eve gushed and threw her arms around her husband's shoulders. She hugged him tightly before stepping back again. "I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to look at me again, but I really want to work this out. I called and arranged to take a vacation from the hospital, so I could spend some time with you and the girls and talk about this. If you're willing to try and work through this." 

T.C. nodded. "I am. I think we need to get away from here for awhile. Why don't we take a trip just you and me and we can talk things out." 

"That would be great." 

. 

Liz stood at the window, peering in at T.C. and Eve who were in each other's arms. She had tried so hard to ruin her sister's life and steal her husband, but the whole plan had backfired. Miraculously, T.C. didn't seem to care that his wife was a lying whore and now Eve and T.C. seemed closer than ever. But it wouldn't last, Liz decided with a sneer. This wasn't over yet, as long as she had anything to say about it. 

.  


_[Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I had most of it written back in July, but got kind of burnt out and couldn't finish it. Then I got a full time (but temporary) job which took up all of my time. I quit watching _Passions_ and quit reading and writing fanfic altogether. Honestly, I've kind of lost interest in all of this, but I have so many ideas for future chapters and so many characters to get to like Kay, John, and Gwen (just because she skipped town doesn't mean she's out of the picture) that I might need to try to finish. So this could be the last chapter, but in case it's not, next time expect either Antonio/Shuis/Beth again or a little side trip for Prudence. (Probably the first, since I don't think Luis can figure out what to do without some help. ;) )]_


	7. Living the Lie

**CHAPTER 7 - LIVING THE LIE**

_Dear Prudence, _

I never thought I'd write to an advice columnist, but I need some help, not for myself, but for the love of my life, "Carolyn." "Carolyn" and I were engaged to be married until we were in a tragic boating accident over a year and a half ago. For a year we were separated and thought that the other was dead. 

I can't tell you how I felt when I saw "Carolyn" again and knew for sure that she was really alive. Unfortunately, our happiness didn't last for long, because I soon discovered that while we were separated she had amnesia and became engaged to my own long lost brother, "Tony." And to make matters worse, he had a dangerous medical condition that prevented us from telling him the truth about our relationship. 

I know "Carolyn" has had a lot of problems dealing with this. She says she really wants to be with me (and I know that she does) but she doesn't want to hurt "Tony," and neither do I. But things just keep getting worse. 

"Tony's" better now, thankfully, but "Carolyn" is married to him and expecting a baby, which could be mine or my brother's child. I'm worried because this situation is causing a lot of stress that could be dangerous for both her and the baby. 

I don't know what to do. Should I leave the situation alone until "Carolyn" and the baby are out of danger? Should I press her to tell "Tony" the truth and get the burden off her shoulders? Or should I go behind her back and tell my brother by myself? 

I just want to do what's best for "Carolyn" and the baby. I've already let her know that I want to be with her and be a father to the baby whether its mine or not. 

So that's the situation? Got any advice for me? 

Signed,   
Supporting the woman I love in Harmony 

Dear Supporting, 

I can see you have a very touchy situation here, but I'm afraid the longer you leave this situation unaddressed, the worse it's going to become. Despite the risks involved, I believe your brother needs to be told the truth as soon as possible. He deserves to know what's going on. 

Bear in mind that this is a delicate situation that needs to be handled accordingly. I wouldn't advise you to rush in and tell your brother that you love "Carolyn" and intend to be with her and the child no matter what. I suggest that you very calmly tell him the situation as you told it to me. Explain to him the past that you and "Carolyn" shared before they became involved and give him a chance to process that information before you discuss what you want for the future. 

It would probably help if "Tony" heard directly from his wife what her plans for the future are, but if you or she or her doctor feel that this course of action would put undue stress on her or her unborn child you might not want to involve her directly. But she should definitely be informed of what's going on. You would know better than I what she can handle, so whether you tell him alone or together is a decision that you will have to make for yourselves. 

I would also advise that "Carolyn" have a paternity test run on her child as soon as possible, so you have all of the facts. Although it might not matter to you who the father of this child is, I would be surprised if it didn't matter to "Tony." He deserves to know whether the child his wife is carrying is his or not. Modern medical science makes it possible to test the DNA of a child before it is even born, but since I am not a medical doctor, I don't know how soon these tests can be run or the details about them. I suggest you and "Carolyn" consult her physician about this as soon as possible. 

In any case, I cannot guarantee that this will go well, but I think, in the long run, it will be best for everyone involved if this secret is aired as soon as possible. Most stress comes from anticipation. Once it's over with and settled, perhaps "Carolyn" will be able to rest a little easier for the remainder of her pregnancy. 

Good luck! 

Love,   
Prudence 

  


"Can I get you anything, Sheridan?" 

"No, Antonio, I'm fine," Sheridan replied from her seat on the sofa. When she spoke her voice sounded tired. Ever since Antonio had been released from the hospital, earlier that day, and found out that Sheridan was pregnant, he had been more attentive to her than she had thought was possible. She knew he meant well and was only trying to be a good husband. Maybe she could have even appreciated his efforts if every kind action of his didn't make her feel so guilty. As it was, her husband was starting to get on her nerves. "You really don't have to make a fuss over me," she gently hinted. 

"I know," Antonio said, sitting next to her on the sofa. "But I want to. I'm just so thankful about how well my life is going right now. I've got my health back, a wife who's a better woman than I deserve, and a baby on the way. It's everything I've ever wanted." 

Sheridan looked away from her husband, ashamed. She should be feeling the same way. Starting a family of her own was something she had always dreamed of too, but she never imagined that she would end up married to the wrong man. 

She couldn't deny that she had feelings for Antonio. She did love him, but not in the same way that she loved Luis. In her heart she knew she was meant to be with Luis and that he was her soul mate, but she couldn't be with him because of Antonio. Her husband was just so happy and excited about their life together. It was like he had a new lease on life, but everything he was counting on was a lie. She knew that she should be honest with him and tell him the truth, but doing so would break his heart. 

"I tell you, I can't wait to be a daddy," Antonio was saying, but he stopped talking when he realized that Sheridan wasn't listening. He was noticing, and not for the first time since he got out of the hospital, how miserable Sheridan seemed. He knew that she had wanted to be a mother and that she wanted this baby. This should be a happy time in her life, but she wasn't happy and he knew why. It was all because she was married to him. 

When he found out that his brother, Luis, and Sheridan were in love with each other, he was willing to do whatever he had to do to hold on to the woman that he loved, but now he was having doubts. He still wanted to be with Sheridan, but not like this. He wanted to be with the bright, cheerful woman that he fell in love with on the island But she stopped being that woman as soon as she got her memory back. It's not that he loved her any less. He would stick by her without question if it was just a matter of her being depressed. But the fact was that he was the one who was making her miserable. He knew that for certain. The proof was in the way she lit up whenever his brother walked into the room. 

The life he was living was nothing but a lie, on both their parts. Maybe it would be best if he just let her go, if not for himself, it would certainly be better for her. 

"Antonio-" 

"Sheridan, I-" 

They both stopped short, interrupted, not only by each other, but by a knock on the front door. 

"I'll get it," Antonio offered as he rose from his seat and crossed over to the door. When he opened it, he found himself face to face with one of the people he least wanted to see. He hid his true feelings about the visitor and greeted him with a friendly tone. "Hey, Luis. What are you doing here?" 

"I just thought I'd drop by and see how you two were doing," he answered as he walked past Antonio. "Hi, Sheridan." 

"Luis," she replied, sounding pleasantly surprised. To Antonio, the change in Sheridan from just a few moments before until now was like night and day. He couldn't believe all the months he went without noticing how she instantly cheered up whenever his brother was around. The way she smiled at Luis now was the way she used to smile at him before they came back to Harmony and before Luis was back in their lives. The jealousy was eating him up inside. 

"We're doing just fine, Luis," Antonio replied as he took his seat next to Sheridan and draped and arm over her shoulders. "I thought Sheridan and I might spend the day out on the town, just the two of us. You know, to celebrate the baby and the beginning of our marriage. I'm still trying to make up for our honeymoon since it was cut short." 

Luis gritted his teeth and nodded silently. It was bad enough that his brother was married to the woman that he loved, but it was almost like Antonio was rubbing his face in it. He resisted the urge to create an outburst by reminding himself that Antonio didn't really know any better and by looking at Sheridan. Right now, he was only keeping quiet about his true feelings for her for her sake and for the baby's. 

"Oh, Antonio," Sheridan started before Luis could have the chance to say anything. "I don't I think I feel up to going out and having a big day today." 

"Ok, Sheridan, whatever you want," he said, giving her shoulders a squeeze and sending Luis a sideways glance. "We can stay in then." 

Sheridan smiled weakly at Antonio before turning a helpless look towards Luis, who was clenching his fists against the armrest of his chair. 

"We do appreciate you coming by, Luis," Antonio continued. "especially when we know you'd rather be spending time with your fiancee, Beth. Have you two set another wedding date yet?" 

"No," Luis replied tensely. "I guess during all the years you were away, I just got used to putting my family before myself." 

"Antonio," Sheridan spoke up quickly, breaking in before the brothers' remarks became even more heated. "Could you make me a cup of tea?" 

"Of course," Antonio replied, slightly taken aback, but ever ready to play the attentive husband. He gave Sheridan a kiss on the cheek and was disappointed when he felt her pull away slightly as his lips touched her skin. As he raised from his seat on the sofa, he asked Luis if he wanted anything. When the answer was no, Antonio disappeared into the kitchen. 

As soon as Antonio was out of the room, Luis moved next to Sheridan and she rested her head on his shoulder. 

"Oh, Luis. I feel so awful about this, lying to Antonio, when he's been so good to me." 

"I know," he said, hugging her closer to him. "That's why we have to tell him." 

"I don't know if I can," Sheridan replied, moving back to look Luis in the eyes. "He's already so attached to this baby. The truth is going to break his heart." 

"That's exactly why we need to tell him right away, Sheridan. If this baby isn't his, like we think it isn't, we've got to tell him before he gets too attached. He deserves to know the truth. We all do." 

"What are you saying?" she asked, sensing there was more coming for her to be concerned about. 

"I think we need to have a paternity test run on the baby as soon as possible." When he noticed that Sheridan looked worried he was quick to add, "It's not for me, if that's what you're thinking. I'll be here for you and the baby even if it is Antonio's, but I think he needs to know, especially if the baby is mine." 

"I'm sure it is," Sheridan replied. "It has to be your child." 

"All the more reason to find out for sure. It might be easier for him to let you go if he knows you're already carrying my child and not his." 

Sheridan nodded. The plan did make sense. "All right. When can we find out?" 

"Hey, Sheridan," Antonio called out as he walked back into the room. As Luis and Sheridan jerked away from each other he asked. "What's going on in here?" 

Luis and Sheridan looked at each other, searching for an excuse. 

"I was feeling a little faint and Luis was just checking on me." 

"Are you all right?" he asked with concern. 

"Yes," she said, brushing a hand across her forehead. "I'm feeling better now." 

"Good, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you or the baby." Then he turned to Luis with a cold stare, "And thanks for looking out for my wife, Luis. You're a good brother." 

"No problem," Luis replied. 

. 

Antonio went back into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. "Feeling faint." He wouldn't have bought that excuse even if he hadn't been watching from the doorway, listening to everything they said. Maybe he should have stayed in the kitchen and let them finish their conversation, but his jealousy got the better of him. It had been hard enough not to storm in there and break them up by force. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up this charade. 

Antonio checked the tea kettle on the stove before picking up the phone and dialing a number. 

"Hello, Beth. It's Antonio," he spoke when she answered on the other end. "We've got to call it off." 

"What? Why? What's happened, Antonio?" Beth asked frantically. 

"I just don't think I can do this anymore, Beth. I'm doing everything I can to make Sheridan happy, but she's miserable. Being with me is making her miserable." 

"No, Antonio. I'm sure it's not you," Beth replied. "It's probably just a hormonal thing. You know her hormones must be all out of whack because of the pregnancy." 

"I don't think that's it. I mean, you should see they way she lights up when Luis walks in the room." 

"I have," Beth mumbled bitterly. 

"Look, I love Sheridan and I'd give anything to be with her, but not like this. They're both here right now, I'm just going to tell them I know the truth and let Sheridan go. I want her to be happy." 

"Luis is there?" Beth said urgently, getting sidetracked for a moment. "No, Antonio, we can't give up on this. You and Sheridan were meant to be together just like I belong with Luis. This isn't over yet." 

"I'm sorry Beth, but I think it is. They're in the room talking about paternity tests and telling me the truth about everything. I hate to let Luis beat me at this. I mean, I'm losing my wife to my own brother. But if I let Sheridan go on my own maybe I can get out of this thing with some dignity." 

"A paternity test? That's nothing," Beth replied, pacing across her living room as she talked to Antonio over the phone. Already her mind was at work, trying to find away around this latest obstacle. "I have a friend who works at the hospital. We can easily change the results and make Sheridan and Luis think the baby's yours even if it's not. Luis wouldn't separate a father and child, especially when the father is his own brother." 

"I'm not so sure about that," Antonio grumbled, resentfully. "But it doesn't matter. As long as I'm alive and capable of raising my own child, I wouldn't want my brother act like he's the father of my child and I'm sure Luis wouldn't want that either." As he spoke the solution was forming in his mind. "We'll wait until the test comes out. If the baby's Luis's, then that's it, I'm letting Sheridan go." 

"Don't be hasty, ok, Antonio? Just wait and think this over before you do anything that you can't take back. I'm on my way over right now. Don't say anything to Sheridan or Luis about what you know before I get there. We'll work this out, I promise." 

Beth hung up the phone with an annoyed sigh. "So much for Antonio's help," she muttered to herself. She couldn't believe he was giving up so easily. Some partner he turned out to be. 

"Ha, Bethie!" Mrs. Wallace called out as she hobbled around the corner with her walker. "You couldn't corrupt Antonio to your wicked ways after all, could you? You see, unlike you, Antonio has something called a conscience." 

"It's not over yet, Mother. Antonio isn't going to give up on Sheridan as long as he thinks she's pregnant with his child. And I'm going to make sure he keeps thinking that." 

"What are you going to do?" Mrs. Wallace asked as she watched Beth walk across the room to collect her purse and coat. "Where are you going? You're going out after Luis again, aren't you?" When Beth ignored her, the elderly woman fell to her knees and leaned over her walker, folding her hands together in prayer as she turned her face towards the ceiling. "Oh, angels in heaven. Please keep my evil, evil daughter away from Luis and Sheridan. And stop her from deceiving those sweet, beautiful couple and that poor, handsome, unfortunate Antonio." 

"Would you shut up already?" Beth snapped as she started out the door. 

[Boredom wins out, so I'm going to try to work on this until real life gets in the way again. Now the obstacle is motivation, but reviews help with that. (Was that a hint? ;-) ) In the next chapter, someone takes notice of our little advice columnist. And Prudence finally gets out of the Book Cafe and into some hot water. It's finished except for some editing, so _hopefully_ I'll get it up soon, that is if I don't get delayed by the holidays or by another story, which I said I'd _try_ to finish before the end of the year. Stay tuned!] 


	8. Won't You Come Out and Play?

**CHAPTER 8 - WON'T YOU COME OUT TO PLAY?**

Prudence typed the closing to her latest letter before maneuvering the mouse to click send and then close the window on her desktop. She looked up from the screen of her laptop and blinked as she looked around the Book Cafe. The morning customers that had populated the establishment had since left and now afternoon patrons wandered in ordering drinks and browsing through the bookshelves. Hoping to pick up some useful gossip, Prudence scanned the room, searching for a familiar face. 

She didn't see any faces that she recognized, but she did notice someone familiar who was standing with his back to her. The young man with a head full of dark, wavy hair and a slender, broad-shouldered frame who was perusing the literary section appeared to be John Hastings. He stood stopped down, bent at the knees, holding on to the edge of a heigher shelf with his left hand for balance, while running his right index finger across the row of books on the bottom shelf. He paused at one before removing it from its place, raising to his feet, and flipping through the pages. 

A glimpse of the title made Prudence sigh. It was a poetry writer's handbook. "So he's a poet?" she thought, her interest sparked as a slight grin crept to her face. * 

John looked up from the book and turned in Prudence's direction. Embarrassed at being caught staring, she quickly turned away and pretended to be interested in a stray book left lying on her table. He almost looked as if he might go over to her table if someone else hadn't just walked into the bookstore/cafe. 

"Hey, John," Jessica Bennett called out with a smile as she and her boyfriend entered arm in arm. 

As the young people exchanged the usual, dull small talk, it became clear to Prudence that they weren't going to divulge any useful gossip and she let her attention wander. Since nothing interesting seemed to be happening around here, she started thinking about what she should do with the rest of the day. 

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a flash of light and a brief surge of static shock as a black two-by-four inch card materialized on the table in front of her. She turned toward it and reached out her hand, but before she could pick it up her attention was drawn elsewhere. 

"Did you see that?" Reese asked, pointing towards Prudence's table. Their conversation interrupted, John and Jessica turned towards Prudence and stared at her curiously as the advice columnist looked back at them warily. 

Jessica turned to Reese skeptically, "See what?" 

"There was a flash," he explained. "And something appeared on that table." 

He moved forward with Jessica and John following behind him. Quickly Prudence snatched up the card and shrunk back. 

"That. That wasn't there a minute ago," he accused, wagging a finger at Prudence as he stood only two feet from the witch. 

"Come on, Reese. Things don't just appear out of thin air." 

"This did," he persisted. 

"You know. I don't remember seeing that there a second ago," John said thoughtfully. 

"Oh not you too," Jessica sighed. 

"See!" Reese said, eager for John's support of his accusation. He turned to Prudence now. "That wasn't there a second ago, was it?" 

"Of course it was," Prudence, silent up until this point, replied, acting a little more taken aback than was necessary. She hastened to explain. "It was just hiding under my laptop," she said, setting the card face down on the table and sliding the laptop over it to demonstrate. 

"What about the flash?" Reese persisted. 

"My screen saver?" Prudence shrugged. 

"That makes sense," John admitted. 

"Yes, it does," Jessica said pointedly towards Reese, who didn't look any more convinced. 

"But-" 

"Geez, Reese. It's bad enough when you bother poor, old Tabitha like this, but now you're picking on strangers in the book cafe?" she scolded gently before turning to Prudence. "Sorry to bother you." 

"No problem," she said dismissively as Jessica led Reese away and John, after smiling briefly at Prudence, followed. She waited until they were at a safe distance before picking up the card and flipping it over. 

Written on the front in metallic red letters was a summons. 

_Prudence, your presence is requested at your earliest convenience. We have been observing you and are eager to discuss your work._

As soon as she had read the message, including the address at the end of the note, the card dissolved in her hands. She looked up to see if anyone noticed, but the kids were across the room and Reese was occupied, at the moment, by looking at a book Jessica was pointed out. 

Prudence wiped the dust off her fingers with a nearby napkin before raising from her seat. She was curious and even a little excited about the summons. Maybe she was going to be offered a job. Helping people was all well and good, but getting paid or even recognized for her work was even better. Still, these feelings didn't explain the drawing sense of urgency that compelled her to answer this summons as quickly as possible. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do at the moment, but something was telling her that this should be addressed right away. There wasn't a moment to lose. 

Quickly she gathered up her belongings and started out of the cafe. 

. 

The address provided on the summons took Prudence to a tall, old house on a quiet suburban street. She walked up to the porch and rang the bell, not sure what to expect or what to say when, or if, someone answered the door. 

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door in front of her swung open. The person on the other side stood with one hand on the door and the other on her hip. She wore an annoyed expression and stared at Prudence silently, impatiently waiting for the visitor to speak first. 

"Hello. I received a-" Prudence stopped short and decided to rephrase her statement before the teenager standing in front of her. "an invitation." 

"I don't know anything about that," Kay Bennett replied without the least bit of sympathy. "And Tabitha isn't here right now." 

"Tabitha?" Prudence repeated. So the old witch she met at the party lived here. That made sense. 

"Yes, _Tabitha_," she replied sharply. "This is her house. Are you sure you have the right address?" 

Prudence frowned. Bratty as she was acting, the girl did have a point. Without the invitation Prudence wasn't 100% sure about having the right house. She had come to this door more by following instinct than house number, but there was no way for Kay to know that. 

"The note wasn't signed," Prudence shrugged. 

"Well, since it wasn't from me and I'm the only one here, maybe you should come back later when Tabitha's home," Kay said as she started to close the door on Prudence. 

Prudence was stepping back from the doorway when she heard a low rumbling sound come from within the house. "What was that?" 

"Nothing," Kay replied as she hurried to shut the door. 

"Let her in, Kay," a low voice rumbled. 

"I thought you were the only one home," Prudence said through the door's narrow opening. 

"I forgot about them," Kay mumbled. When the voice commanded her to open the door, this time she obeyed. "All right!" she called out, opening the door wide. She greeted Prudence again, this time with a mockingly sarcastic hostess tone, "Come in, won't you." 

Prudence stepped inside, past Kay, and took in her surroundings. The house seemed usual by all appearances. The furnishings were slightly old in style and the array of belongings slightly eclectic, but nothing was surprising except for the smell. This wasn't just the musty smell of old houses. Rising up from the floor was a pungent sulfuric odor. 

As Prudence glanced around the room her eyes were drawn to the heat registers on the wall along the floor. Between the gratings a red light flashed and smoke waft out. 

Kay immediately saw that Prudence noticed the stirrings from the basement and hurried to explain, "Oh, those lights are from Tabitha's basement. She raises exotic plants down there." 

"Uh huh," Prudence replied. She was doubtful, but didn't press for the truth. She paused in the middle of the living room, realizing that she was wandering through the house without knowing where she was going. "So who else is here?" 

Kay hesitated, not sure what to say, but fortunately the voices from the basement supplied an answer for her. 

"Go to the basement door to find out." 

Kay's eyes widened with fear or surprise or maybe both, Prudence wasn't sure. 

Prudence blinked and looked around the room before turning to Kay, "Where is the door to the basement?" 

Kay stood dumbly for a moment before starting, "I'm not sure if that's a good idea . . ." 

Prudence opened her mouth to protest, but before she could utter a word, a door behind her swung open. Beyond the door was a dark corridor where a reddish glow flashed just brightly enough to reveal descending steps. Prudence turned from the door back to Kay with a shrug before walking towards it. 

Warily, Kay followed at what she considered a safe distance behind her. Despite her dealings with black magic, or possibly because of them, she was terrified of Tabitha's "friends" in the basement. But her curiosity was too strong to keep her from leaving, so she followed along to see what was going to happen next. Just to be fair, she did offer the stranger a warning, "I really wouldn't go down there if I were you. Maybe you should come back later when Tabitha's here." 

Still the voices were beckoning Prudence to the basement door and she followed, pausing only momentarily to assure Kay that it was alright. Kay shrugged and stood back. She had tried to help. Whatever happened to the other woman now was her own fault. Kay was washing her hands of all responsibility. 

Prudence set down her briefcase before stepping past the threshold and down the first step of the descending stairway. She kept hold of the door frame with one hand and steadied herself by gripping onto the banister with the other, as she leaned forward and peered down into the depths of the basement. 

"Who's there?" she asked, struggling to sound brave and keep the nervous waver out of her voice. 

When she squinted through the pulsing red glow she could make out dark shapes that flickered and danced below. The illusion of fire and the stench of brimstone left her with no doubt about who she was dealing with. And though this realization sent a cold shiver down her spine, she stood firm and waited for a reply. 

"Our identities are of no great importance. All you need to know is that we are representatives of the Dark Side. And you are the witch called Prudence who helps mortal humans with words of advice?" the voice concluded mockingly. 

"Yes, I am," Prudence replied firmly and with bravado and pride. "Why did you summon me here?" 

"We have been watching your work. When a new source of magical power enters Harmony we need to know whether they are with us or against us. It isn't clear to us yet which side you're playing for." 

"I don't take sides," she replied calmly. "In my line of work impartiality is essential. Otherwise I couldn't be trusted. And if I'm not trusted, my business is doomed." 

The voices in the basement growled and rumbled for a moment. It didn't seem to be an angry sound, but Prudence couldn't tell if it was a disagreeable murmur, a murmur of consideration, or what else it might have meant. 

"Your little advice scheme has proven an effective power of suggestion. A source of power we would like to have on our side." 

"What?" Prudence asked more out of surprise than misunderstanding. 

"As we have witnessed, your letters of advice have the power to both mend and break relationships as well as cause happiness and heartbreak. For some time now, Tabitha has been trying to break up the happy couples in Harmony and has failed miserably again and again. We think a new approach like yours is something our side could benefit from. Join our side and use your talents to cause as much pain and sorrow for the people of Harmony as possible, and you will be greatly rewarded." 

Prudence nearly faltered and lost her balance on the stairs. Only her tight grip on the door frame and on the banister kept her from tumbling to the basement floor. When she spoke her voice was barely above a whisper. "I can't do that. I told you it would be suicide for me." 

"We aren't asking you, Prudence," the voices said. 

She knew that would be the case. Though she had never been face to face with Evil itself before, she knew enough about how the Dark Side worked to know that she wouldn't be given a choice in the matter. Refusal wasn't an option she was allowed to choose and acceptance was one she was unwilling to consent to. She was trapped with only one chance out, one that was very unlikely to succeed. 

She turned quickly towards the door, planning to run out of the house as fast as she was able, but as she expected, the side of Evil was faster. She moved forward only two inches before she ran into a wall. The invisible barrier kept her from reaching the other side of the doorway where a stunned Kay stood watching. 

Prudence opened her mouth to yell for help, but she doubted that the younger woman could hear her. And even if she could there wouldn't be any help she could offer. Prudence pressed her palms against the transparent barrier, hoping to push it away. She kept pushing as the forces below her gathered their power into a vortex and sucked her down into the darkness. 

Kay jumped back as the basement door slammed shut and the house suddenly grew deathly still. She stood frozen in place, for the moment almost afraid to breathe, until she heard someone or something at the front door. Only when she heard Tabitha's voice was she able to move again. 

The elderly woman was muttering about something as she took off her coat and gloves, but Kay didn't bother to listening to her ramblings. 

"Tabitha! Tabitha, I'm so glad you're back." 

"What happened when I was gone, Kay?" the witch asked. "You look as pale as a ghost, maybe even paler. You didn't let Fluffy scare you, did you?" 

"This is more serious than some stupid old cat, Tabitha," Kay said, panicked. "Some woman just got sucked into your basement." 

"What? What woman?" 

"I don't know who she was," Kay insisted as she followed Tabitha towards the basement door. "She said she had an invitation and those creepy voices from the basement started talking and told her to go to the basement door. I tried to tell her not to, at least not until you got back, but she went anyway. She stood on the steps talking to them, before she got sucked down. What are we going to do?" 

Tabitha paused a moment to investigate the briefcase Prudence left next to the door. As she started to pick it up a small slip of paper slid under the basement door and landed at her feet. She picked it up and read the words on the front of the card. 

PRUDENCE BREWER  
- Advice columnist -  
"impartial, unbiased advice, guaranteed" 

Tabitha tapped the card against her palm and stared forward thoughtfully. So the boys in the basement finally caught up with the new witch in town. That explained it. 

"Well, Tabitha?" Kay prompted impatiently. "Someone just disappeared down your basement, aren't you going to do anything about it? Don't you have anything to say?" 

Tabitha turned to Kay, "What do you want me to do about it, Kay? Do you want to go down there and try to talk them into letting her go? All that's going to accomplish is to give the girl another roommate. This is none of our business. Prudence and my friends in the basement will have to work it out amongst themselves. It's none of our concern." 

"But Tabitha-" Kay insisted. She was interrupted by a knock on the door. 

Tabitha walked past the protesting teenager to see who the visitor was. When she saw Simone standing outside with a suitcase at her feet, she turned to Kay who had followed her into the entryway. 

"It's for you," the witch said. "Now Kay, you cannot let Simone know what just happened here. In fact, don't act like anything is wrong. And if she asks to stay here, tell her absolutely not. I've got enough headaches as it is." 

On those parting words, Tabitha left the room as Kay answered the door. "Hey Simone, what are you doing here?" Kay said trying to hide her uneasiness behind a sweet tone. "Going somewhere?" she added with a nod towards the suitcase. 

Simone entered, setting the suitcase just inside the door was she briskly walked past Kay and turned again to face her. "Omigod, Kay. You would not believe all the shady stuff that's been going down at my house these last two days." 

"I bet I would," Kay said under her breath. With the help of the magical bowl in Tabitha's kitchen she had no problem keeping tabs on all of the latest happenings in Harmony. 

The remark went past unnoticed as Simone continued talking. "First I find out Whitney has been trying to steal my boyfriend away from me by throwing her slutty self at him and sleeping with him. Then I find out all of these horrible secrets my mom has been keeping from me and the rest of my family all of these years. I just had to get out of the house and away from my family." 

"I'm sorry, Simone. Where are you going?" 

At that moment Tabitha passed through the room with a brief hello to Simone and a private reminder to Kay, "remember she can't stay here," before leaving again. 

"To L.A." Simone replied firmly as she stood up straighter. "To find Chad and win him back." 

"What? Your parents are letting you go to L.A. after Chad?" 

"No, I didn't tell my parents. They're on their way out of town for a trip anyway. Besides, I'm 18, they can't tell me what to do and they can't stop me from seeing Chad." 

"But Simone, Chad cheated on you with Whitney. You're really going to chase him clear across the country?" 

"Come on, Kay. Don't pretend you wouldn't do the same thing for Miguel. Besides I know Chad only cheated on with me with Whitney because she threw herself at him and used sex to lure him away from me. If I go out there it will only prove that I love him more than Whitney does. And with her back here in Harmony, I'll win him back, no matter what it takes to do it." 

  


Prudence was caught in a dizzying swirl of red and black smoke She screamed, knowing it was unlikely that anyone would be able to hear her. She felt like she was being sucked down, like she was falling and falling without end. 

She had lost all track of time when she finally landed on some cold, hard surface. At first she was too dizzy and dazed to look up and find out where she was. Then she was too afraid. Considering who she had been dealing with, she expected to find herself in the worst place imaginable. But when she did venture a glance at her surroundings she was surprised to see where she really was. 

She was lying on the floor of a basement. Tabitha's basement, presumably, and the stairs to the house were less than 10 feet away from her. 

Slowly, and warily, she picked herself up off the floor and dusted herself off. What was the meaning of this? Was it just some kind of scare tactic? She didn't think They would let her off this easy. There had to be some kind of catch she didn't know about yet. 

Prudence took two steps towards the stairs before she hit a wall. She stepped back and reached out her hands. There was another invisible barrier, blocking her from the way out. She felt all around her, like a mime in an imaginary box, as she tried to determine how far this wall went and if there was a way out. 

The wall curved in a circle around her, enclosing her in a small space, just big enough for her to lie down in. Since there weren't any openings that she could find and no spells she could think of could break her barrier, she resigned to her fate. She sat down on the ground, resting her head against the transparent wall as she wondered just how long she'll be trapped there. 

  


*Much like the author, Prudence has a weakness for dark-haired poets, especially the broad shouldered, easy-going types. ;-) 


	9. Once the Secret's Out

**CHAPTER 9 - ONCE THE SECRET'S OUT**

Eve hummed to herself as she closed the suitcase laying on her bed and latched it shut. She felt better than she had in, well, ever. Finally she was free from the burden of her past and she could really enjoy her life completely.

"Are you about finished?" T.C. asked as he walked into the bedroom.

"Yes, I think this is everything," she turned to her husband with a smile. She walked over to him, threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Oh T.C. I'm so glad we're doing this. I know once we get away from here, just the two of us, we'll be able to put everything behind us and start over. You've just been so wonderful about everything that's happened, but I don't know I was afraid you wouldn't be. You're a wonderful man."

As she spoke T.C. stared forward blankly. "What can I say? I love you." She hugged him tighter, before he pulled away. "Why don't I take the luggage downstairs and pull the car around?"

"OK," Eve replied. "And while you're doing that, I'll go say goodbye to the girls."

  


Eve walked down the hallway and knocked on the door. "Simone?" she called out as the door was nudged open, but there was no reply. When she looked around the room it was empty.

She closed the door again and walked further down the hall to her older daughter's room and knocked again. This time the knock was answered and she entered the room to find Whitney sitting on her bed.

"Hi. I just wanted to let you know that your father and I are leaving and to say goodbye."

Whitney walked over to give her mother a hug. "Ok, I hope you have a good time."

"Thanks. Do you know where your sister is? I just stopped by her room and she wasn't there."

"I'm sure Simone's trying to be anywhere that I'm not," Whitney replied, looking at the floor. With a despondent sigh she looked up at her mother again and asked, "Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"

"Oh, I'm sure she will," Eve said gently. "I'm sure she just needs some time to get over what happened."

"We both do," Whitney said as she turned and sat down again on the bed.

"I know, sweetie," Eve said sympathetically, rubbing Whitney's arm as she took a seat next to her.

"I really loved, Chad," Whitney said, her eyes starting to tear up and her voice wavering as she spoke. "I thought he was the one. I think, eventually, I could get over loosing Chad, but Simone . . .I don't know what I'll do if she never forgives me. What if she feels about me the same way Liz feels about you, forever?"

  


Outside T.C. was stowing the luggage away in the trunk of the car. He closed the trunk and turned around, only to find Liz standing right behind him. He was so startled that he jumped back.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to cover up his embarrassment by taking a tough tone of voice. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from me and my family."

"I know, T.C." Liz said, trying to act humbly ashamed. "But I really think there's something that you should know. I wouldn't feel right about leaving, without telling you the truth before I go."

"Oh? The truth, huh?" T.C. asked, skeptically, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I doubt that. Well, whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it." He pushed past her and walked towards the front of the car.

Liz walked after him. "I should have told you the truth about Eve a long time ago," she said, with a hurt expression as T.C. turned to look at her. "I wanted to, from the beginning, but Eve wouldn't let me. She threatened me not to say anything."

"Eve? Threatened you?"

"I just feel so bad that a decent man, like you got involved with her." Liz looked T.C. in the eye. "You don't know your wife as well as you think."

"You know what, Liz?" T.C. asked, matching Liz's stare as he leaned against the driver's side door of the car. "I want you out of here, out of this house, out of our lives, before Eve and I get back from this trip."

With those words, T.C. climbed into the car and started it up, leaving Liz stewing in the driveway.

  


"No, I don't think that would happen, not to you and Simone," Eve replied. As she thought back to how close she and her sister used to be and the sweet girl that Liz had been before everything happened, she wasn't so sure. She shook the thought out of her mind. She couldn't believe her daughters' relationship would turn out like her relationship with her own sister. Even the idea of it broke her heart. "I'm sure she'll forgive you eventually," she added hopefully.

"I hope so, but I wouldn't count on it," Whitney sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry Mom. You and Daddy were about to leave."

"You're right. He's probably waiting on me," she said, raising from her seat on the bed and pulling her purse more securely onto her shoulder. "Are you sure you're going to be alright while we're gone?"

"I'll be fine," Whitney shrugged as she stood up. 

Eve gave her daughter another hug and then touched her on the cheek. "All right. But don't spend the whole weekend here all alone. You should go out and see your friends. You might be surprised, it could help."

"I'll think about it."

  


Eve went through her mental checklist one last time, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything important, before heading out of the house. As she was ready to walk out the front door, T.C. was walking inside.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes, I just need to grab something upstairs and then we'll be ready to go."

"Ok, I'll meet you out in the car."

As T.C. went upstairs, Eve started towards the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see someone standing outside, just about to knock. 

"Julian? What are you doing here?" she asked, quickly correcting herself by adding, "You shouldn't be here."

"I know. I just wanted to talk to you, just for a moment." 

Eve looked around nervously, before going outside and securely closing the door behind her. "I can't talk long, T.C. is waiting for me. We're going away for the weekend. He's just packing the car," Eve babbled, terrified that her husband would walk outside and catch his sworn enemy (and her secret old flame) at the house.

"This won't take long. I heard the news that you told T.C. the truth about your past. I just wanted to see how you were."

"I'm fine," Eve replied, in a not completely convincing tone. She pushed back her uneasiness enough to look at Julian who was staring at her with focus and a softness she hadn't seen in him since their old days together. She took a deep breath and smiled. "It went better than I could have imagined."

"I'm glad," Julian replied sincerely. "But why didn't you tell me that you were going to tell the truth?"

"I didn't want to get you involved."

"But I am involved, Eve."

Eve shook her head. "I know that, Julian, but T.C. doesn't have to. Everything that happened between us ended a long time ago. And T.C. hates you so much already. If he knew that you were the father of the baby I lost, he would have tried to kill you."

"I appreciate it, Eve. But I still wish I could have been there for you when you told the truth. I'm not the same person I was so many years ago. I wouldn't abandon you again."

"Thank you, Julian," Eve replied. "But everything worked out fine. T.C. and I are going away together to start over and strengthen our relationship."

"I'm glad to hear it, Eve. I only wish the best for you," he said with a sad smile. "Now, I'd better go before T.C. finds me here."

"Right. Thank you."

Julian stepped closer and kissed her on the cheek and said, "Have a good trip, Eve," before walking away.

"Goodbye, Julian," Eve called quietly after him as he disappeared around the corner.

"What are you doing?" T.C. asked as he stepped outside and shut the door.

Eve shook herself out of her thoughts and turned to her husband with a smile. "Just waiting on you."

"Then let's get going," T.C. said, setting an arm around her shoulders as they started towards the car. "I want to miss the rush hour traffic."

As T.C. and Eve got into the car, Liz appeared from around the corner of the house and spied as they drove away. 

"Oh no. You aren't getting off that easy, Eve."

Liz grinned deviously to herself as she hurried to her car and started to unlock the driver's side door. Just as she fit the key into the lock, a hand caught her by the wrist.

Liz turned quickly and found herself face to face with Julian Crane. All traces of kindness about his expression were gone now and he stared at Liz coldly. 

She tried to jerk her arm away, but he didn't let up his grip on her. "Let go of me," she spat.

"I'm not going to let you destroy Eve's life," Julian stated.

"You can't stop me," she replied, matching his cold stare.

She struggled against his grip as he reached to grab her other arm. A quick movement by Liz caused Julian to stumble backwards and loose his hold on her arm as he tumbled into the bushes. Liz took advantage of the moment to snatch her lost keys and reach for the handle of the car door. Before she could get inside something hit her over the back of the head and she was knocked unconscious.

As Liz started to drop, Julian tossed the stick he had grabbed when he fell into the bushes aside and caught Liz under her arms. Supporting the weight of her limp body, he dragged her to his car and stuffed her into the back seat. With a slam of the car door he remarked. "I'm going to make sure you can't hurt Eve ever again."

  
  


"Well, this is just great!" Ivy grumbled from her bedroom in the Crane mansion. "I can't believe Eve actually came out and told everyone about her past. And if it isn't bad enough that I don't have that piece of information to hold over her anymore, she told the truth and nobody seems to mind! I mean, if I'm going to lose my edge over her the least I could get in return is to watch her confession blow up in her face. Is that too much to ask?"

"You're a cold-hearted woman, Ivy Crane," David Hastings replied.

"Oh, don't lecture me, David," Ivy spat. "We've got a problem here. How are we going to keep Eve from telling everyone that she lied about John being Grace's son?"

"I don't think there's anything you can do," David replied. "Dr. Russell is an honorable woman and she's not going to let Grace believe in a lie. I admire her courage and if she's determined to tell the truth I'm not going to make it harder for her."

"Oh yes, you will," Ivy retorted. "Or do I need to remind you what your stake is in this is? If Eve tells Grace that she lied about the DNA results, you'll not only lose Grace, but you'll lose John as well."

"Not to mention that you'll also lose your chance with Sam, once Eve tells him that you were the one who blackmailed her into lying about the test."

"I don't think you realize how serious this is," Ivy spoke sternly as she leaned forward, clutching the arms of her wheelchair tightly. Her demeanor was collected, but her wide eyed stare revealed her state of panic. "Yes, I will lose any chance I may have had with Sam, but you will lose so much more than just your chance to be with Grace. Do you think your son will ever be able to look you in the eye again after he finds out that you've been lying to him for his entire life about who his family really is? Not to mention when he finds out about all of the other less than saintly things you've done in the past. Which I promise you _will_ come out _if_ we get caught."

David sighed and gave in. "All right. What immoral thing do you want me to do this time?"

Ivy grinned. "David, you make me sound like an ogre. But don't worry, if Eve wants to tell the truth let her," Ivy spun her wheelchair around the room as she formulated her latest plan. "Grace is so intent on believing that John is her son that she might not believe Eve even if she does tell her that he's not. So all you have to do is deny Eve's accusations and make sure that there's no proof to back her up."

"And how will we accomplish that?" David asked.

Ivy just smiled knowingly.

  
  


[**Confidential to Charity LopezFitz3:** (actually, it's not really confidential. Anyone can read this. I just got that line from "Dear Abby" :) ) Yes, I do plan on getting to Charity and Miguel eventually, but according to my last outline, I won't be able to work them in until about Chapter 16 or 17, depending how I split things up. And at the rate I'm going that could be a long time away. But since this chapter and possibly the next few chapters, as well, might be shorter than usual, who knows? I might actually get to them this year. :D (I'm so far behind) And thanks for the good luck wishes, but unfortunately, all of my dark-haired poets are fictional characters from TV shows that aren't even made any more. *Sighs* Oh well.]

[ **To all my Readers/Reviewers:** Thank you! :) The next chapter should be up fairly soon. In fact I almost tacked it onto the end of this one. The schemers are back in action.] 


	10. Recombinant DNA

**CHAPTER 10 - RECOMBINANT DNA**

Beth stood next to the door in a darkened room, peaking out through the narrow opening into a brightly lit hallway. Satisfied that the corridor was vacant, she carefully closed the door and turned her back to it. After letting her eyes readjust to the darkness of the room, she walked across the records room towards the woman typing on a computer. 

"Have you got it yet?" 

"Not yet." 

"Well, can you hurry up?" Beth asked urgently, as she nervously wrung her hands. "I want to get this done and get out of here before we get caught." 

"Don't worry so much, Beth. I've got it under control," the other woman replied gruffly. She typed in a few more keystrokes, then leaned back. "There we go, paternity results for Sheridan Crane's unborn baby. I told you I could get it." 

"Great, Charlie," Beth said unenthusiastically, but her partner-in-crime seemed proud of even that scant praise. "But now you've got to make sure the results say that Antonio is the father and Luis isn't." 

"No problem, but isn't Antonio Sheridan's husband? Why do you want her to think her husband's the father? How is that going to get back at her?" 

Beth sighed, impatiently. "I told you. She doesn't love Antonio. She loves Luis. And if everyone thinks that Antonio is the father of the baby, she'll have to stay with him and be trapped in a marriage with the man she doesn't really want to be with. And Luis will be free to-" Beth caught herself short and quickly changed what she was about to say. "to be miserable for the rest of his life because he can't be with Sheridan. Do you understand?" 

"Yeah, but why not change the results so that neither one is the father, then she'll lose both of them." 

Beth thought that idea over. She could just imagine what would happen if both tests came up negative . . . 

_"What do you mean neither one of us is the father?" Luis would demand. "Who else have you been sleeping around with?" _

Then Sheridan would sob and try to deny that there had been anybody else. But Luis and Antonio wouldn't believe her. How could they when the tests clearly said that neither brother had fathered her unborn child. 

"God, Luis, I can't believe we let this lying slut come between us. I'm sorry," Antonio would apologize. 

"Me too." 

"Well, I'm not going to make that mistake twice. I'm filing for a divorce as soon as I can." 

Then Sheridan would crawl forward, wiping her tears as she grabs on to Luis' arm. "Did you hear that Luis? Now we can finally be together, the way we always wanted." 

"What? You think I would still want to be with you after finding out what a slut you are?" he would ask, shoving Sheridan aside. "I never want to see you again." 

As Luis walks away Sheridan would call after him, pathetically, "Luis? Wait? Where are you going?" 

"To make up for the biggest mistake of my life." Just as he would turn away he would spot Beth standing in a doorway, framed in light, as heavenly music starts to play in the background. "Beth! You're the true love of my life!" He would call out as he ran over and took her in his arms. 

Then they would all walk away from Sheridan, leaving the blonde heiress alone, sobbing as she collapses to the floor. "Luis! Antonio? NOOOOO!!!!!" 

Beth grinned gleefully to herself. Now that was a pretty picture. But what if Luis stuck by his word to stay with Sheridan no matter who the father was? It would be just like Sheridan to snag Luis that way. Beth decided she couldn't take that chance. 

"No, just stick to the original plan, Charlie. So we can get out of here." 

Charlie watched Beth suspiciously as the petite woman resumed her lookout at the door. She didn't like how touchy Beth got whenever the subject of Luis came up. But whenever Charlie questioned her motives, Beth turned defensive and bossy. Not that she minded that much, she found the assertiveness of Beth's personality appealing. But maybe Beth didn't always know what was best for her. Charlie was sure that her own plan was better for getting back at Sheridan and all blondes who mistreated other women who weren't as gorgeous as they thought they were. Beth would change her tune once she saw how well things worked out, if Charlie went ahead and did things her own way. She might even be impressed. But if they didn't go well, for some reason, Beth would be furious with her. 

Charlie bit at her lip, trying to decide what to do, as she glanced back and forth between Beth and the computer screen. Then she started to type. 

"Ok, that's it," Charlie announced once the information in the computer system had been changed and the last pages were printing to replace the hard copy files. 

"Ok, great," Beth said, relieved that they were almost finished. "Just put the new pages in the files, grab the old ones and let's get out of here." 

As Charlie, started to stuff the papers into the file, Beth grabbed her arm and hissed, "Someone's coming." 

The two women stood frozen in the center of the room as heavy footsteps in the corridor approached. The noise stopped just in front of the door to the records room as a shadow appeared in the door's small frosted window. 

"What are we going to do?" Beth whispered anxiously, as she quickly glanced around the room. "We've got to hide." 

"In here," Charlie motioned towards a tall cabinet door. She ducked inside and pulled Beth in after her. Squeezed together in the small space they just managed to get the door closed before the stranger walked into the room. 

Huddled in their hiding place, they waited for something to happen, but when the lights weren't turned on, Beth inched the cabinet door slightly and peeked out. 

"Who's out there?" Charlie whispered only to be shushed by Beth. 

There was a man in the room standing with his back to them as he searched through the files arranged alphabetically on shelves. He pulled out one file from the "B's," two from the "H's" and set them down near the computer as he started typing in data and printing out pages. 

Beth turned to Charlie, with a look, as if to say "can you believe this?" but the other woman was more interested in her close quarters with Beth than what the man out there was up to. Beth turned away in disgust. 

When the man returned the files back to their places and seemed about to leave, Beth let out a side of relief, eager to get out of there. But before the man could leave, someone else was approaching. 

Beth saw him hurrying towards them and pressed back away from the door, and subsequently closer to Charlie, but there was no way to hide from him. He swung the door open, hoping, like they had, to find a hiding place from the person coming in, but gasped when he found the two women already crammed into the little space. 

As quickly as he opened the door, he closed it again, and instead huddled for cover in a corner behind a counter. 

"Was that David Hastings?" Beth whispered to Charlie. 

The taller woman shrugged. "Who cares? There's only room in here for you and me." 

Beth squirmed as Charlie snuggled against her, but held still again when another man entered the room. When the figure picked up the files that she and Charlie had left lying on the counter and started leafing through them, she started to panic. What if they had been caught tampering with Sheridan's medical files? Then she realized, if that was someone who worked at the hospital, they surely would have turned on the lights when they came in and they probably wouldn't be dressed all in black. 

After a few minutes, the stranger returned Sheridan's file back to its place and then left. 

Beth was eager to get out of the cabinet, but waited there a few seconds longer, just to make sure someone else didn't come sneaking into the records room. Who would have thought the place would be so busy at night? 

"Ok," Beth finally said. "I think the coast is clear now." 

As she pushed open the door and started to step out, Charlie grabbed her arm, gently. "What's your hurry. I think it's kind of cozy in here." 

Beth slapped at the other woman's hand and then pulled herself out of the cabinet. "Will you stay focused? Let's just get out of here before someone catches us and finds out what we're doing here." 

"What are you doing here?" David inquired as he rose from his hiding place and dusted himself off. 

Beth hesitated a moment, trying to decide what to say before retorting, "I could ask you that same question." 

"Me? I'm not doing a thing," David replied innocently. 

Beth shrugged, matching his attitude. "Neither are we. In fact, we were never even here." 

"I wouldn't know anything about that," David replied. "Seeing that I was never here to see if you were here or not." 

"Then great," Beth replied. "I don't see why we would have any problems then." 

As Beth and David stood nodding at each other awkwardly, Charlie looked from one to the other, confused. 

"Well, if you'll excuse me . . .ladies, I'd like to be not here for real," David said walking past the pair. 

"Sure, we were just leaving too," Beth stated, nodding for Charlie to follow. 

The group proceeded to the door, led by David. He inched the door open to make sure no one was in the corridor and then opened it for the women. Beth took a look around before stepping into the hallway, but Charlie stayed in the room, glaring at David. 

"What's wrong?" he asked. 

"Do you think we need men to open doors for us?" she asked, sounding as if she had been personally insulted. 

"No, of course not. You seem very . . .capable. I was just being polite," David explained apologetically. 

"Charlie, please. Let's just go," Beth interceded. 

"If anyone is going to be polite to Beth, it's me," Charlie added as she followed Beth out the door. 

"My apologies," David mumbled, giving the pair an odd look before walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. 


End file.
